Cranston's Efforts to Boost School Attendance in Focus at Workshop

Cranston Public Schools have been grappling with the problem of chronic absenteeism for years with absentee rates notably higher than the state average, but recently, there’s been a renewed effort to address the problem.

And the work is beginning to pay off, school officials say.

Some details about the district’s efforts and the positive work being done will be highlighted at a workshop next week convened by Attendance Counts! -- a task force formed by Cranston Superintendent Judith Lundsten and district Data Coordinator Rosemary Burns.

State Education Commissioner Deborah Gist will be on hand to provide opening remarks before Burns will give an overview of the attendance and tardiness problems in grades K-12, “but more importantly, it will focus on the positive work being done in Cranston to turn this crisis around,” according to a release.

Also presenting will be Cranston High School East student Emily Nunez, RI Kids Count Policy Analyst Stephanie Geller and Susan Thomas, senior director of training and program development for RI Mentoring Partnership.

The workshop will run from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Central Library at 140 Sockanosset Cross Road. To RSVP, contact Sue Thomas at 732-7700 or 578-2281 or sthomas@mentorRI.com.