Raimondo Says Schools Closed Until May, Distance Learning to Continue

Raimondo Says Schools Closed Until May, Distance Learning to Continue

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo announced Monday that public schools will be closed through the month of April, at a press conference at the Rhode Island State House. 

Rhode Island announced the 4th death due to COVID-19, 114 new cases in the last day, bringing the total cases now to 408 cases — with 41 people in the hospital.

Raimondo said she believes that distance learning is going well, annd will reevaluate her latest directive at the end of April. 

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“I think it’s going better than anyone anticipated — attendance rates are higher than we thought, in some instances higher in distance learning than in-school learning,” said Raimondo. 

“We in Rhode Island will continue with distance learning through end of April — school buildings will be closed but school will be every day until the end of April,” she said. 

“I am taking an incremental approach with this whole crisis. We’re going up the curve very fast. I’m taking it 30 days at a time,” said Raimondo.

WiFi Updateds

“We know not every student has access to wifi at home,” said Raimondo. “All households with cell phones and a hotspot service — you'll be able to activate hotspot service for free.”

“If you have a smartphone with a hot spot — you can use it for free until May 18,” said Raimondo. “It’s not perfect but it’s something. I want to give a huge thank you to our service providers.”

“Please don’t rush out and turn on your hotspots,” said Raimondo. “That will crash the system. This is an option for people for whom this the only option.”

“We’ve also partnered with Cox — for qualifying low-income families they’re offering two months of free service and $10 a month after,” said Raimondo.