Providence, Central Falls To Stay With Partial School Reopening

PROVIDENCE, RI — About a month into the new school year, nearly all Rhode Island schools are mostly back in classrooms, Gov. Gina Raimondo said Wednesday. Following a review from the departments of Education and Health, the two districts that were only allowed a partial reopening — Providence and Central Falls — will not fully reopen this semester.

These two districts were the only two that did not make the cutoff for a full reopening at the end of August. At that time, Raimondo encouraged districts to take a slow approach to getting students back in classrooms until the middle of October, at which point Providence and Central Falls would be reevaluated, as well.

The decision to stay at partial reopening status until the end of the semester was not made based on the number of cases in schools, Raimondo said, rather the prevalence in the community and the state as a whole. In fact, virus transmission in schools has been basically nonexistent, Raimondo said, with just seven cases reported in schools in Central Falls, and nine in those learning from home. In Providence, there have been 47 cases in-person and 45 in virtual learners, and just 10 schools with more than one in-person case reported. This shows that containment strategies are working in schools, the governor explained.

Although these two districts can't bring all students back to classrooms, that doesn't mean everyone is learning from home. In both districts, all elementary school students can learn in person, since virtual learning has been shown to be far more difficult for younger children, the governor said. Certain key grades are learning in classrooms, while others, particularly older students, are focused more on virtual learning.