CRANSTON – The National Education Association of Rhode Island announced Tuesday that its executive committee voted unanimously on Monday to call on Gov. Gina M. Raimondo to close all school buildings in the state by Dec. 11 and move all learning online through the end of the Christmas break on Jan. 4, 2021.
NEARI, which has approximately 12,000 union members in the education sector, is also asking both the R.I. Department of Education and the R.I. Department of Health to have a coordinated effort to make sure that all students and staff are tested before returning to school buildings in 2021.
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The move, if granted, would close school buildings two weeks ahead of the scheduled Christmas break. According to RIDE’s unified 2020-21 school calendar, the Christmas break runs Dec. 24 through Jan. 3, with school back in session Jan. 4.
NEARI noted in its statement that Raimondo, at her weekly COVID-19 press conferences, regularly urges Rhode Islanders to get tested for coronavirus and that testing is key to the state’s strategy in combating the ongoing pandemic. The executive committee, chaired by President Lawrence E. Purtill, said it insists that students and education staff must be tested for COVID-19 to “further safeguard our communities and curb the spread of this rampant disease.”
Some school districts, such as Cranston and Newport, have already announced that they will be switching to remote learning through at least the end of the calendar year. NEARI said its executive committee is encouraging other administrators around the state to take similar steps.
Since the summer, Raimondo has pushed for in-person learning at K-12 schools across the state for this academic after learning was moved to online back in April during the pandemic’s first wave. While COVID-19 cases in Rhode Island have significantly risen over the last few weeks, Raimondo regularly claims that in-person learning at K-12 schools are not a source for the increased cases.
During the current two-week “pause,” in-person high school is limited across the state, while in-person K-8 schools remain fully open.
However, a study by the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council released back in October revealed that access to remote learning has been problematic across the state. Additionally, Raimondo has criticized multiple school districts, such as Pawtucket and Warwick, over the last few months for choosing to have learning be fully remote.
It is unclear if the governor will move all learning to remote per NEARI’s request. The governor’s office did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request seeking comment.
Raimondo is scheduled to hold her weekly COVID-19 press conference Dec. 10.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
