RI’s Chronic Student Absenteeism Nearly Doubled in Four Years -- See How Each District Ranks
GoLocalProv News Team
RI’s Chronic Student Absenteeism Nearly Doubled in Four Years -- See How Each District Ranks
In 2018-2019, Rhode Island’s “chronic absenteeism” rate was 19% — which jumped to 34% in 2021-2022, based on data analyzed by Stanford University Professor Thomas Dee released this month.
SEE THE DISTRICTS AND CHARTERS WITH THE HIGHEST ABSENTEEISM RATES -- BELOW
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In his report “Higher Chronic Absenteeism Threatens Academic Recovery From the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Gee was able to look at data collected from 40 states and the District of Columbia — and overall, Rhode Island ranked 9th for the highest chronic absenteeism for the 2021-2022 data.
The highest? Alaska at 49% followed by Washington, DC at 48%.
Rhode Island in Focus
According to the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), the state takes a number of proactive steps to address the critical issue of absenteeism.
"Attendance matters, and it is a top priority here in Rhode Island, as it is in communities across the nation grappling with the issue. As Rhode Island looks to accelerate learning and help students recover from the disruption of COVID, we want to make sure that students, families, and other stakeholders know that being in school every day ready to learn is critical," said RIDE Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green
Infante-Green is expected to join Governor Dan McKee and city and town leaders to welcome students on their first day and encourage attendance.
Unique Challenges
The school with the highest chronic absenteeism for the 2021-2022 school year is not a typical Rhode Island school.
The mission of the Sheila C. “Skip” Nowell Leadership Academy in Providence is to ensure that Rhode Island’s pregnant, parenting and underserved youth "graduate from high school with the knowledge and skills they need to be prepared for success in college, career and family life."
"96% of our students had past difficulties with consistent attendance. There was a time that the attendance rate at Nowell was 20% and we have worked very hard to get it over 60%—this spring we hit 68%," Executive Director Jessica Waters told GoLocal. "Of course, we remain committed to continuous improvement on this front but it’s important that people know and understand where we started and all the ways we work to keep students engaged with us and with their school work even when they are struggling to come to the building."
"Our goal is for pregnant moms to keep coming to school and completing work as far into their pregnancy as possible. We have a project specifically for students on maternity leave so that they can remain on track, academically, while out of school. Students can ask for academic support while out on leave," said Waters. "We also value and account for the skills they are developing as they navigate this experience. Our nurse and/or social worker visit them at home during their maternity leave and if needed, they can request academic support during these visits (which then gets coordinated by an academic advisor/teacher.)"
Waters said that the school provides vital resources -- but that it has its challenges.
"Our free onsite daycare is absolutely vital in keeping our new moms (and our pregnant ones with other children) on track academically and making sure they stay connected to the support system we provide," said Waters.
"Regarding achievement, this too is a tough climb. So many of our students came to us with transcripts that completely misrepresented their academic levels. How does a student earn a B in 9th-grade Literature if they read on a 2nd-grade level? We have to go back to the very basics with many of our students before they can tackle the high school level work required to earn a Nowell diploma," said Waters. "This background is crucial in understanding our proficiency data."
"Our SAT data is complicated because 84% of the students who take the SAT with us have been with us for less than two years and 38% of those students have been with us less than one year," she added. "This is a very short window of time to get them caught up in all that they missed in their previous years of schooling and performing at their current grade level with us. Our SAT scores are not strong but our participation rate continues to climb."
Rhode Island Student Absenteeism: 2021-2022 School Year
#60
8.7% of Jamestown students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#59
9.5% of Barrington students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#58
10.4% of Glocester students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#57 (tie)
10.6% of RISE Prep Mayoral Academy students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#57 (tie)
10.6% of Foster students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#56
11.7% of Segue Institute for Learning students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#55
12.3% of Portsmouth students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#54
13.5% of Kingston Hill Academy students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#53
14.8% of Scituate students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#52
14.9% of East Greenwich students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#51
15.5% of Little Compton students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#50
15.9% of North Smithfield students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#49
16.6% of Cumberland students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#48
16.7% of North Kingstown students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#47
18.2% of Smithfield students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#46
18.8% of Beacon Charter students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#45
19.2% of Narragansett students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#44
19.3% of South Kingstown students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#43
19.7% of Burrillville students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#41 (tie)
20.4% of Westerly students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#41 (tie)
20.4% of Foster-Glocester students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#40
20.5% of Lincoln students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#39
21.6% of Cranston students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#38
22.2% of Coventry students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#37
25.1% of Tiverton students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#36
26.1% of Exeter-West Greenwich students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#35
26.9% of The Compass School students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#34
28.2% of East Providence students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#33
28.8% of Chariho students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#32
29.8% of Johnston students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#31
31.4% of Bristol-Warren students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#30
31.8% of North Providence students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#29
34.2% of New Shoreham students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#28
34.3% of Providence Preparatory Charter students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#27
34.9% of Middletown students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#26
35.9% of Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#25
36.0% of The Hope Academy students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#24
36.5% of Blackstone Valley Prep students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#23
36.6% of Blackstone Academy students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#22
38.5% of RI School for the Deaf students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#21
38.6% of Pawtucket students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#20
38.7% of Southside Charter students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#19
39.4% of Learning Community students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#18
40.4% of Met Career and Tech students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#17
41.3% of Paul Cuffee students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#16
42.7% of Newport students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#15
45% of Warwick students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#14
46.7% of RI Nurses Institute Middle College students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#13
47.6% of Village Green Virtual students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#11 (tie)
48.2% of Central Falls students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#11 (tie)
48.2% of International Charter students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#10
48.4% of West Warwick students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#9
49.6% of Davies Career and Tech students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#8
51.9% of Woonsocket students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#7
53.7% of Highlander students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#6
55.1% of The Greene School students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#5
57.1% of Providence students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#4
58.2% of Nuestro Mundo students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#3
67.3% of Charette Charter students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#2
81.8% of Urban Collaborative students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
#1
88.2% of Sheila Skip Nowell students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year
