Providence students head back to classroom with no staggered return

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Providence students are headed back to the classroom with a “normal return” following April break.

The district announced earlier this month that there would be no staggered return for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

The return also comes just two weeks following newly appointed school superintendent Dr. Javier Montañez’s decision to make masking optional.

To ensure health and safety of students, the district held multiple vaccination clinics and provided everyone with two free COVID-19 testing kits before the start of break.

Over the past several weeks, Providence Public Schools averaged fewer than 10 positive cases per day across a district of over 20,000 students.

“If there’s an increase in cases, whether it be a particular school, or an increase in cases in the community then that’s a reason where we would have to look toward going back into mandating masks,” said Montañez.

The Department of Health also announced Friday that four Rhode Island counties have moved from “low” to “medium” COVID-19 community levels.