RIDE Distributing 140,000 Attendance Tracking Calendars to Students Across Rhode Island

Published on Monday, September 21, 2026

PROVIDENCE, RI – Governor Dan McKee, Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green, and the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) today announced that, as part of the nationally recognized Attendance Matters RI campaign, the agency is distributing approximately 140,000 Attendance Matters RI magnetic calendars to students across Rhode Island.  

The magnetic calendars will be distributed to every public school district in Rhode Island, ensuring that families of students across the state have a practical tool to help track attendance throughout the school year. Thanks to support from the Papitto Opportunity Connection, the calendars are provided at no cost to families. 

"Every day in school matters," said Governor Dan McKee. "When students attend school consistently, they are more likely to build strong relationships, stay on track academically, and access the supports they need to thrive. These calendars provide families with another tool to partner with schools in supporting student success." 

"Regular attendance is one of the strongest predictors of student success," said Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green. "These calendars are a simple but effective way to help families stay engaged and reinforce the importance of being present in school every day." 

"At Papitto Opportunity Connection, we believe that opportunity starts with showing up," said Barbara Papitto, founder and trustee of the Papitto Opportunity Connection. "Consistent school attendance is one of the clearest paths to opportunity for Rhode Island's students, and we're proud to support RIDE in giving families a simple, practical tool to help make that happen. When a child is in school every day, doors open, and that's exactly the kind of impact we want to help create." 

In addition to Rhode Island’s Attendance Leaderboard, and first-in-the-nation Attendance Calendar Heat Map, the Attendance Matters RI magnetic calendar is an easy-to-use resource for families, helping them establish routines, monitor attendance, and encourage daily school participation.  

This past August, as part of the Attendance Matters RI initiative, RIDE released attendance data for school year 2025-26 which showed that statewide chronic absenteeism dropped by 2.4 percentage points down to 19.7%, marking a 14.4 percentage point decrease from the height of the pandemic and returning the state very close to pre-pandemic baselines. This decline equates to over 4.4 million instructional hours recovered for Rhode Island students. 

For more information about Attendance Matters RI, visit www.attendancemattersri.org.