Cadence Solon Sworn In As 2019 Rhode Island Governor For A Day

PROVIDENCE, RI — On Monday, Governor Gina Raimondo took a step back in the State House, putting the state in the hands of a Cumberland fifth grader. Cadence Solon won this year’s Governor For A Day essay contest and was sworn into the state’s highest office Monday morning.

Instead of going to school at Ashton Elementary, the young governor started her day with a briefing with her senior staff members before being sworn in by Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice Maureen Goldberg and doing her first interview with the press.

Solon’s winning essay addressed the gender pay gap, the importance of ESL and special education teachers and school construction.

“Of all the things I would like to change, what I would start with is to have more teachers in school to help children that don’t speak English or have disabilities. Just like we should support our communities with roads and bridges; also we need to support our children’s future and the world they will live in,” Solon wrote in part. “The way I would achieve this is by sitting down to talk with principals and leaders for schools all across Rhode Island to make sure we have enough space and enough new special teachers. This is important because to succeed some students need help.”

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