Dear Business Partners,

As Governor and Education Commissioner for the State of Rhode Island, we are building on the momentum and progress made in reducing chronic absenteeism and kicking off the second year of the #AttendanceMattersRI campaign. As a reminder, a child is considered chronically absent when they miss 10% or more of the school year, or 18 days - which is equivalent to 2 days per month. 

While more work needs to be done, Rhode Island is making strides. During the 2023-2024 school year, 89% of school districts improved their chronic absenteeism rates, some -including Providence and Newport- significantly. Statewide chronic  absenteeism fell to 24.7%, representing a 4.2 percentage point decline from 2022-2023 and a nearly 10-point decline from the height of the pandemic. Schools reported more than 244,000 fewer absences, which represents approximately 1.3 million additional learning hours for Rhode Island students. Diligent efforts are underway on the school, district, and state level, and we're proud to  share that our work is garnering international attention- with our data dashboards and on-the-ground efforts being spotlighted in Chalkbeat, the National Assessment Governing Board, FutureEd at Georgetown  University, the White House, and beyond.

This progress would not be possible without the dedication of our educators, families, and community members, including business leaders like you. Whether a small gesture or larger effort, your promotion of  #AttendanceMattersRI has and will continue to make a difference in the lives of students and families. Research shows that students who are chronically absent are less likely to meet key academic milestones such as reading at grade level by third grade, graduating from high school, and enrolling in post-secondary education. Chronically absent students face greater challenges in securing employment and are more likely to struggle  with job instability in adulthood. Chronic absenteeism directly affects the strength of Rhode Island's workforce, which depends on a steady pipeline of well-prepared and qualified individuals.

To ensure a bright future for all students - and for Rhode Island-we must continue to work together to address the root causes of chronic absenteeism. 

This work requires collaboration among educators, families,  community organizations, and local businesses to create a culture that values education and supports every student in attending school regularly.

We encourage you to consider:

Sponsoring a school:
Support a local school community with their attendance outreach and promotion by helping with attendance-focused incentives and activities for students and families. Your contributions can help a school celebrate  students' attendance milestones and help continue the momentum. A pizza party, field trip, or cool swag can make a difference in a school community. If you're interested in more information on how you can support a  school community, please email attendancematters@ride.ri.gov.

Spreading the word:
Share #AttendanceMattersRI informational materials with your staff at team meetings and through direct letters to staff and newsletters. AttendanceMattersRI.org offers  attendance fact sheets in multiple languages, social media kits, videos, and other  great resources for families. We encourage you to print materials and place them in  the lunchroom and other communal areas. An attendance leaderboard is also available that shows how your school ranks in daily attendance among all state schools.

Incorporating attendance into your work:
If possible, consider supporting schedule flexibility for families with school-aged children, and if you employ youth, establish schedules for students that do not overlap with school activities. Small changes in scheduling can help instill good attendance habits and promote responsibility, discipline, and commitment.

Please join our #AttendanceMattersRI campaign and be a part of the positive change we all wish to see. 

For support and additional guidance on how you can promote the importance of regular school attendance, please visit AttendanceMattersRI.org.