SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WJAR) — “It’s an alphabet book,” Anwen Daley said.

Turning each page, the South Kingstown third grader reads proudly from her homeschool project, written entirely in Spanish.

Continuing her children’s bilingual education is extremely important to parent Maddalena Cirignotta.

“I’m a teacher,” Cirignotta said. “My husband teaches multiple subjects throughout the day to them, primarily focusing on the math, the science; I tend to do the language in the afternoon.”

Cirignotta pulled her children from school due to the school mask mandate.

“Masking was very negatively impacting them and their experience, frankly, seemed to be irrelevant,” Cirignotta said. “I was in a position to choose between their wellness and their education and I had to choose their wellness. I’m their mother, I’m their advocate.”

Cirignotta called her children “unofficial” homeschoolers, meaning they are still enrolled in South Kingstown Public Schools, but are not formally considered by the district to be homeschoolers. They could be considered truant, Cirignotta.

In Rhode Island, approval of home instruction occurs at the district level.

Cirignotta’s hope is that they can return to school without masks, but until then, she believes her three children are better off at home.

“We’ve been able to sometimes do school on the road a little bit,” Cirignotta said about day-to-day work. “We made a list of words in Spanish they didn’t know. We can do the flashcards in the car.”

Anwen, Paul and Mabel also spend time outside and socialize with friends and neighbors when they are available. Cirignotta was initially interested in a “pod” learning model, but wanted to focus on language, which could complicate the day.

While preliminary data shows the number of homeschoolers has, on average, tapered off, some districts, including Cranston, Smithfield and Johnston have nearly the same number so far, as they did for the entire 2020-2021 school year.

“I value SK’s education. I think very highly of it,” Cirignotta said. “I’m part of that district. I’m in the system. I see how excellent the education is.”

Homeschooling data is due to RIDE by November 26th, after which, NBC 10 News will release a full analysis of the first few months of the school year.

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