McKee, Infante-Green to hold ‘Attendance Matters RI’ event to start school year

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — It’s freshly September, and with Labor Day weekend now behind us, it’s back to school for more than a dozen schools in southern New England.

Bristol-Warren, Westerly, South Kingstown, Narragansett and Jamestown are among the school districts opening their doors.

In Massachusetts, Attleboro, Bridgewater and Raynham are some of the districts returning today.

Today also marks the start of classes for Providence College, the University of Rhode Island, and the Community College of Rhode Island.

Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee and state education commissioner Angélica Infante-Green are excited about this school year, and will hold an event today kicking off this year’s “Attendance Matters RI” campaign.

The push looks to stop chronic absenteeism, and seems to be working, with the governor’s office finding an 11 percent drop in class cutting in the 2023 to 2024 school year.

This year’s campaign kicks off at 11.