Rhode Island Fun Facts
Information About Rhode Island, Rhode Island Geography,
and Rhode Island Schools

Rhode Island is abbreviated RI. The capital and largest city of Rhode Island is Providence. Residents of Rhode Island are referred to as Rhode Islanders.

Rhode Island is unofficially called "The Ocean State" or "Little Rhody." "Rhode Island It's for Me" is the state song. This state was named by Dutch explorer Adrian Block. He named it "Roodt Eylandt" meaning "red island" in reference to the red clay that lined the shore. The name was later anglicized when the region came under British rule.

The state bird of Rhode Island is the Rhode Island Red. The state flower is the violet and the state tree is the Red Maple.

Rhode Island is ranked 43rd in population and received its statehood May 29, 1790.

Connecticut and Massachusetts are bordering states of Rhode Island. Rhode Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean are major bodies of water associated with Rhode Island.

Major industries of Rhode Island are textiles, jewelry, rubber products, machinery and tourism.

There were 151,324 K12 students in the Rhode Island public schools in 1996. Out of those students 13,177 were first grade students. There were also 10,656 K12 public school teachers in the Rhode Island public schools system. There were a total of 316 Rhode Island public schools in 1996. (Source: IES National Center for Education Statistics)

Want to know about preparing for the Rhode Island New England Common Assessment Program or NECAP Standardized Tests?

Are you interested in information on Homeschooling in Rhode Island or a Rhode Island homeschool parent support group?

Here are some homeschool lesson demos that your kids can try.