Providence police escort a group of teens from a house on Corinth Street to a police van.

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The Providence Journal / Bob Thayer

PROVIDENCE — Approximately 40 middle and high school students from Providence and Cranston skipped school yesterday morning and gathered at a triple-decker off Broad Street for a party.

The party, which began around 10 a.m. on Corinth Street, drew high school students from a number of public schools, including Central, Adelaide Avenue, the Providence Academy of International Studies, and the Health, Science and Technology Academy. Students also came from Cranston High School East and two Providence middle schools, Roger Williams and Gilbert Stuart.

The students were taken by police van to their respective schools

Only one teenager, the 16-year-old who apparently organized the party, was arrested and later charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

No alcohol or drugs were found in the apartment, according to Lt. Mary Day. Day said the parent who lives in the apartment where the party took place will not be charged because she was at work when the teens began to gather.

“The mother had no idea,” Day said. “She is very upset.”

While the police were waiting for the owner of the house to arrive, several teenagers jumped out of a second-story window onto the roof of a parked car and then hopped a fence. Six teenagers were found hiding in the attic.

As the patrolmen loaded small groups of students into waiting police vans, about a dozen students stood on Broad Street and hooted and cheered. Asked how they knew about the party, one girl said, “Because it’s Providence.”

A resident called the police after seeing the large number of young people entering the house.

Yesterday, a few neighbors watched from the sidelines as the students, some of them giggling, were escorted out of the house. A couple of neighbors said this isn’t the first time that something like this has occurred.

On any given day, approximately 13 percent of the city’s public high school students — about 800 teenagers — don’t show up for school. Some of those students have legitimate reasons for their absence; others don’t.

“Our students are well aware of the expectation of attendance and of their responsibility as young adults to comply with that expectation,” Providence Supt. Donnie Evans said. “The school district and the school leadership will be working closely together to address today’s events and to prevent any future school-hours gatherings such as this.”

After a number of consecutive absences, the school sends out a letter to the family, which is followed by a meeting with the parents and child. If the student continues to be truant, the student is referred to Family Court.

“Whenever a child isn’t in school, it concerns us,” said Providence schools spokeswoman Kim Rose. “But we don’t want to blow this out of proportion. Certainly, there will be a discussion to make sure that we are as effective as possible in keeping kids in school.”

Rose said that of the 7,500 students in the city’s public high schools, fewer than 40 skipped class yesterday.

lborg@projo.com