Rhode Island
Small State, Big Problems
Rhode Island now has the unfortunate distinction of having more home school conflicts per square inch than any other state. With an open-ended “approval” law and reactionary school districts, many home schoolers find themselves butting heads with the same school officials year after year. That has certainly been true in the fall of 1998. The difficult districts this year include Bristol Warren, North Kingstown, Johnstown, Jamestown, and East Providence. Woonsocket, Portsmouth, and Providence have made significant changes in their district home school policies, but are still working the “bugs” out of their new systems.
Slowly but surely, Rhode Island home schoolers are bringing about better policies and procedures across the state. Home schooling has earned an increasingly positive reputation in Rhode Island, with a surprising number of public school officials actively supporting the right of parents to home school. In the long run, Home School Legal Defense Association expects that the faithful efforts of dedicated families will result in a smooth and favorable climate for home schoolers all across Rhode Island.
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Rhode Island
Admitted to statehood:
May 29, 1790
Origin of name:
The smallest state and state with the longest official name: “State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.” Exact origin unknown. One theory is that Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano first used the name in 1524 when he compared Block Island, Rhode Island, to the island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean. Others believe the state was named Roode Eylandt by Dutch explorer Adriaen Block because of its red clay.
Motto:
Hope.
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