More than a third of teachers missed at least 10 days, the report from Education Week says, though breakdown doesn't say whether teachers missed work for legitimate reasons.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — More than a third of public school teachers in Rhode Island missed at least 10 days of school in 2013-2014, the highest percentage of absences in New England, according to a national education magazine.

The analysis, conducted by the Education Week Research Center, reported that nationwide, slightly more than one in four teachers miss 10 days or more of school.

Education Week's researchers relied on information collected by the U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Office. The federal data, however, doesn't break down the data to pinpoint whether teachers were missing work for legitimate reasons.

The 10 days includes time off for illness and personal days. Time out of the classroom spent on professional training was not included in the 10 days, according to Education Week, a national magazine for teachers.

Robert Walsh, executive director of the National Education Association, Rhode Island, said chronic absenteeism isn't an issue in the suburban districts represented by his union.

"Without more data, we can't draw any conclusions," he said Tuesday. "It's unfair to report on this without breaking out the data on sick leave and maternity leave."

A 2014 study by the National Council on Teacher Quality, a research group and policy organization that is critical of the teaching profession, reported that Providence had among the highest number of teacher absences when compared to 39 of the nation's largest school districts.

According to that analysis, more than 24 percent of Providence's teachers miss between 11 and 17 days and about 23 percent miss 18 or more days. The report excluded teachers on maternity leave and absences greater than 10 consecutive days.

Providence School Supt. Christopher N. Maher said as part of the district's shift toward giving individual schools more authority, Providence has been working to identify common causes and appropriate interventions for absenteeism among both staff and students. Maher said this effort "represents a long-term commitment to improved attendance across the board.”

Rhode Island, for the first time, is beginning to collect data on teacher absenteeism this fall. The data will help identify where absenteeism is pervasive and what schools have done to develop strong teacher attendance.

Rhode Island education Commissioner Ken Wagner said the data should get at some of the nuances that national studies don't uncover.

"The vast majority of teachers are showing up," he said. "We need to be cautious in our interpretation. We may find that there are districts where a concentrated group of chronically absent teachers is driving up those absence numbers."

Wagner agrees with Education Week that when a teacher is frequently absent, "it comes at a cost to the district and at a cost to student achievement."

"We know there is no greater school-related influence on the achievement of a student than his or her teacher," Lauren Matlack, an education specialist with the state education department, wrote in a recent memo. "If a student is absent, his or her absence might affect one person. If a teacher is absent, between 25 and 100 students are affected."

Each Rhode Island district negotiates sick leave policy as part of its collective bargaining agreements. Some districts allow teachers to bank their sick days. In 2005, the Business Education Roundtable recommended a statewide sick leave policy in which teachers receive 10 days of short-term sick leave per year and participate in the state's temporary disability insurance.

Education Week reported that teachers were less likely to take time off when there was no system for finding a good substitute. Providence, for example, has a pool of substitutes they call on when a regular teacher calls in sick.

In Rhode Island, substitute teachers must have a bachelor degree but prior classroom experience is not required.

In other states, the bar is much lower. In Alabama, a substitute only needs a high school diploma, a criminal background check and 15 hours of training. By contrast, Washington state requires a bachelor's degree, a teaching certificate and two days of training in some larger districts.

Percentage of teachers who missed 10 days or more of school in 2013-2014:

Rhode Island: 37 percent

Massachusetts: 24 percent

Connecticut: 30 percent

New Hampshire: 31 percent

Vermont: 27 percent

Maine: 22 percent

Source: the Education Week Resource Center, citing data from the U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Office

—lborg@providencejournal.com

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On Twitter: @lborgprojocom