Half Of Providence Public Students Are 'Chronically Absent': Report

PROVIDENCE, RI —Half of the students attending Providence public schools in the last year were chronically absent, according to data for the 2022-2023 school year presented this week and reviewed by the Boston Globe.

The latest data is promising when compared to that of attendance during the pandemic—when nearly 60 percent of students were chronically absent—but attendance is still far below what it was before the state took control of the district in 2019, the outlet reported.

Back in 2019, 38 percent of students at Providence Public Schools were chronically absent. Now, that percentage has climbed to 50.

During the 2021-2022 academic year, the district's rate of chronic absenteeism reached 59 percent, more than three times the national rate of 17 percent, according to the Brown Daily Herald.

The state defines "chronic absenteeism" as the percentage of students who miss 10% or more school days during the year—or 2 days per month, according to the Rhode Island Department of Education.

Superintendent Javier Montañez celebrated the most recent data while speaking to the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education Tuesday night, according to the Globe.

"Half of our students went to school 90 percent of the time, and that is huge," Montañez said.

There's still a long way to go. The district's ultimate goal for the 2024 school year, originally set in June 2020, is a chronic absenteeism rate of 10 percent.

Read the full report in the Boston Globe.