PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Education announced $1.2 million in career and technical education, or CTE, equity grants to be used by new and existing career education programs to help expand access for historically underserved students, RIDE announced Thursday.
The grants will be given to eight schools, each receiving roughly $150,000 over two years starting in the 2018-19 school year. This year, instead of using funds to start new CTE programs, as funds have been used in the past, these grants will be used to support schools with specific plans to increase equity of access.
“We are in the midst of an unprecedented expansion of career education opportunities for Rhode Island students. But we cannot focus on expansion alone. We must remain focused on ensuring quality of programs and equity of access,” said Gov. Gina M. Raimondo in a statement. “I applaud these programs for making student equity a priority so that every student in the state is exposed to the kinds of hands-on, work-based learning opportunities that will prepare them for success in the future.”
The following eight schools were given grants in this round. Each school identified a specific primary student group that it will work to serve with the grant money.
- CHARIHOtech: Female students in information technology.
- Exeter-West Greenwich High School: Students with disabilities in environmental science.
- Warwick Area Career & Technical Center: Female students and students of color in IT.
- Rhode Island Nurses Institute charter school: English language learners in health care.
- The Met High School: Students of color and low-income students in finance.
- Smithfield High School: Female students in IT.
- East Providence Career and Technical Center: Low-income students in construction.
- Mount Pleasant High School: English language learners in defense and pre-engineering.
RIDE received 26 applications for this round of grants, accounting for $3.1 million in requests for the available funds.The grants come from existing state funding for career and technical education.There are currently 155 approved CTE programs across the state.
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.
