Gov. Gina Raimondo stopped by Woodridge Elementary School last week to see Cranston’s new all-day kindergarten program in action.

Also visiting the program were state Sen. Hanna Gallo, who fought hard for several years for the full funding of the all-day kindergarten program; Cranston Superintendent Jeannine Nota-Masse; district Executive Director of Pupil Personnel Services Michele Simpson; Mayor Allan Fung and Chief of Staff Carlos Lopez; and City Councilman Christopher Paplauskas. Additionally, several representatives from the governor’s office were also present.

Principal Charlotte Josephs greeted the guests in the lobby, welcoming them to the school, and led them down to Bernadette Bowen’s classroom, where the students were on their feet, doing some morning stretching of their brains and bodies.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” Bowen said, referring to the all-day program as she welcomed the governor to her classroom.

Raimondo praised Bowen for her hard work.

“Thank you for all you do,” she said.

Bowen asked the students to share with the governor some of the things they do in the classroom now that they have so much more time to spend on their learning. The students described their days being filled with activities such as reading, singing, and learning the calendar.

“I saw you doing your exercises when we came in,” Raimondo told the students. “I thought that was great. Thank you for working so hard.”

After the classroom visit, Fung, Gallo, Nota-Masse, and Raimondo noted that prior to this school year, Cranston had been the biggest city in the state to still have a half-day kindergarten program. Nota-Masse described Bowen as having been a huge champion of the all-day kindergarten program.

According to Simpson, Cranston’s schools system – which consists of three high schools, four middle schools, and 16 elementary schools – has now grown from 19 to 33 kindergarten classrooms district-wide.