Newport group looks to build advanced manufacturing academy

MANUFACTURERS, such as Ferguson Perforating in Providence, are having difficulty finding qualified job applicants, a problem that the Newport County Mentor/Co-op Group is hoping to help solve by creating an advanced manufacturing academy. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
MANUFACTURERS, such as Ferguson Perforating in Providence, are having difficulty finding qualified job applicants, a problem that the Newport County Mentor/Co-op Group is hoping to help solve by creating an advanced manufacturing academy. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

NEWPORT – The Newport County Mentor/Co-op Group has asked the R.I. Department of Education to consider supporting an advanced manufacturing academy, a charter school, based in Newport County.

Group Co-Director Chris Semonelli said in documents shared with Providence Business News Monday that he submitted a letter of intent on Jan. 9 to RIDE to launch the proposed charter school as early as the fall of 2015 on a “small scale,” while talks continue with the University of Rhode Island concerning launching a broader, regional manufacturing program.

RIDE is closed for the Martin Luther King holiday and could not be reached for comment.

“There’s three possibilities for it,” Semonelli said, “to be an independent charter school, a mayoral or a public charter school. The ideal option would be for it to be a public school. If not we’ll establish it as an independent school.”

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According to the statement of intent and cover letter, the programming for the school “needs to be scalable and easy to duplicate for the rest of Rhode Island.” A meeting at and tour of Austin Polytechnical Academy, a Chicago-based college and career prep high school with a focus on manufacturing and engineering, was held recently and could serve as a model, Simonelli said.

Possible funding sources listed include the National Science Foundation, Perkins grants through the Community College of Rhode Island, a grant from the van Beuren Charitable Foundation and an innovation fellowship grant from the Rhode Island Foundation.

Rhode Island Foundation spokesman Chris Barnett said Monday he could not yet confirm receipt of the application, but noted that 343 applications have been received. The deadline was in December and winners will be announced in April, he said.

Possible location for the academy could be the Florence Gray Center, the previous home of the Met School in Newport County, Semonelli added, but that is not yet finalized.

Semonelli said he has not yet heard from RIDE.

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