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RI Department of Education

Campaign Name: Attendance Matters | Campaign Launch: 2023-2024 School Year

Overview

The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) partnered with DDL Advertising to launch the “Attendance Matters RI” campaign, a statewide initiative aimed at reducing chronic absenteeism and improving student outcomes. With absenteeism rates rising in the wake of the pandemic, RIDE needed a strategic, community-driven campaign to re-engage students, families, and educators and reinforce the critical importance of consistent school attendance.

Goals

Reduce Absenteeism

Educate the Communtiy

Strengthen Engagement

Tactics

Social Media Activation

Coordinated organic and paid content featuring graphics, videos, and testimonials shared by RIDE, school districts, and community partners.

Community Partnerships

Collaborated with local businesses, nonprofits, and municipalities to spread campaign messaging throughout Rhode Island communities.

Print and Digital Collateral

Designed flyers, posters, and banners for schools, libraries, and community centers.

School Toolkits

Provided editable templates for emails, newsletters, and social media posts to support ongoing communication at the school level.

Video PSAs

Produced testimonial-driven videos highlighting real stories from students, parents, and teachers reinforcing the importance of daily attendance.

Multi-Lingual Creative

All creative was produced and used in English and Spanish

Results

Rhode Island achieved a statewide reduction in chronic absenteeism from 28.9% to 24.7%, resulting in 244,375 fewer absences and 1.34 million additional learning hours for students. An impressive 89% of districts and 82% of schools improved attendance, with Providence Public Schools leading the way—cutting chronic absenteeism by 12.1 percentage points in just one year.