Research from Rhode Island indicates that students who engage consistently in arts classes, notably music, tend to have lower rates of chronic absenteeism, highlighting the importance of sustained arts involvement for student attendance and engagement.
At Mount Pleasant High School in Providence, Danielle Trial Lucini’s first-period concert band class began with the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” and a correction. The students had energy, but they were rushing the piece, and Lucini urged them to leave room between the notes. In her classroom, she said, showing up is only the starting point; students also have to take part.
That expectation sits at the heart of a new Rhode Island study that found sustained participation in arts classes, especially music, was linked with lower chronic absenteeism. The research, conducted by Quadrant Research for the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and released on 17 September, examined state education data from 2018 through 2025 and asked a simple question: whether students who remain in arts courses have better attendance than those who do not.
After adjusting for demographics, year-to-year changes and school district, the report estimated that 25.4% of students who took music for all four years of high school were chronically absent, compared with 37.3% of students who did not maintain four consecutive years of music. The difference was far smaller when researchers looked at arts participation more broadly. Students with four straight years of arts classes across music, visual arts, theatre, dance and media arts had chronic absenteeism rates only 1.9 percentage points lower than those without that level of continuity.
Robert Morrison, a co-author of the report and founder of Quadrant Research, said the findings show correlation rather than proof. He cautioned that the data cannot establish that music classes themselves caused students to attend more regularly. Other factors, including motivation, academic strength, family circumstances or prior musical experience outside school, may also have shaped the results. Still, Morrison said the analysis highlighted something arts educators have long observed in practice: sustained involvement matters more than a one-year exposure course.
The study lands amid a broader statewide push to improve attendance. Rhode Island education officials have made chronic absenteeism a major focus under Governor Dan McKee, who has promoted the Attendance Matters RI campaign, using dashboards, school-level tools and family outreach to monitor absences. In August, McKee marked a fourth consecutive annual decline in chronic absenteeism, saying the rate has fallen 14.4 percentage points from its pandemic-era peak.
The classroom examples in Providence suggest why music can be especially sticky for students. Lucini, who was named Providence Teacher of the Year in June, said band gives teenagers structure, choice and accountability all at once. Students choose instruments they actually want to play, then learn that the whole ensemble depends on each person being on time and ready. One senior, Sidney Feliz, said Mount Pleasant’s music programme was a major reason she chose the school and that Lucini helped her stay focused during periods when motivation dipped. Another student, Xionangelys Lopez Davila, said violin was difficult at first, but the challenge made her more committed. Morrison said the arts have value far beyond attendance, but the attendance connection is a useful bonus.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
