We, the undersigned parents, guardians, and concerned community members of Woonsocket, strongly oppose the proposed extension of the school day by 28 minutes to make up for the five days of lost instruction caused by the recent school closure. This closure was entirely due to the Woonsocket Education Department’s long-standing negligence in maintaining the school’s roof, which has been leaking since at least 2016.

It is completely unfair to require students to make up this lost time when the closure was the direct result of the district’s failure to properly maintain school facilities. Parents firmly believe that children should not be held accountable for the consequences of administrative neglect. The responsibility for this situation falls on those who failed to address the leaking roof for nearly a decade, not on the students who were displaced from their classrooms through no fault of their own.

Extending the school day places unnecessary stress on students, disrupts family routines, and is an inadequate solution to lost instructional time. Instead of punishing children for a preventable issue, the district should take full accountability and consider the following alternatives:

1. Waive the Lost Time – Since this closure was caused by years of negligence, the state should waive the requirement to make up these days, as the burden should not fall on students.

2. Implement Virtual Learning – The district could provide virtual learning opportunities for students to make up instructional time remotely, reducing the impact on daily schedules. 

3. Integrate Missed Instruction into Existing Class Time – Teachers could adapt lesson plans to incorporate the lost material throughout the remainder of the school year, ensuring students stay on track without requiring additional time in their school day.

By signing this petition, we urge the Woonsocket Education Department and the Rhode Island Department of Education to reject the extended school day proposal and instead implement one or more of these reasonable alternatives. Our children should not have to pay the price for the district’s failure to maintain safe and functional school buildings. We demand that decision-makers prioritize proper school maintenance moving forward to prevent this from happening again.