RIDE Announces Update to Statewide School Calendar, Staggered Return to Schools Schedule for January 2021

Providence, RI- The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) announced an updated school calendar that allows for a staggered return of students in January of 2021. Students should return starting January 7 and no later than January 15.

“I want to thank the district leaders, teachers, staff and families for their dedication this year and this semester particularly,” said Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green. “It has been a challenging year but an incredible display of our school communities’ dedication to our students’ learning. We are working to ensure that our school leaders have the flexibility to respond to their community needs while planning for a safe return to school in January in classrooms across Rhode Island.” 

With the holiday break, behavior over the next two weeks will critically impact a successful and safe return to our classrooms in 2021. In order to allow time for quarantining and for school leaders to explore testing plans, staff, teachers and students are encouraged during this time to maintain social gathering limits and follow COVID-19 safety guidelines. Additionally, LEA leaders will be provided the flexibility to shift to distance learning for December 21- December 23, should they decide this is the best option for their schools based on weather, scheduling and anticipated decreased staffing due to the holiday break.  

Last week, Governor Raimondo announced that we will be providing increased surveillance testing opportunities in Rhode Island schools as an additional screening measure. Based on lessons learned from successful pilot testing programs in Central Falls and other communities, the State will help support schools with testing events or school-based testing plans. 

More information and the updated school schedule will be posted at www.back2schoolRI.com.