At These Rhode Island High Schools, Academic Rigor and CTE Go Hand-in-Hand
Paperny: Statewide, students who took at least two CTE courses perform higher on national assessments and have higher four-year graduation rates.
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When Mia Santomassimo graduated as valedictorian from Cranston High School West in June, she had more than the highest grade point average and a plan to attend Brown University. She had also completed a medical and technical education program.
Too often, high schools separate so-called academic students from those perceived unlikely to attend college, a process commonly known as tracking. Two high schools in Cranston, Rhode Island are showing that career and technical education programs can prepare students for both college and the workforce.
In fact, seniors who completed CTE paths in the past school year included those with the highest academic rankings at both Cranston High School West and Cranston High School East. Across Rhode Island, students who have completed at least two CTE-specific courses perform higher on national assessments and have a higher four-year graduation rate than other students.
鈥淭here used to be a division between postsecondary education and vocational education. At Cranston, we鈥檝e been able to make these two things the same thing,鈥 said Zachary Farrell, executive director of secondary programs for Cranston Public School District.
High school students in Rhode Island鈥檚 second largest district can choose among coursework in Medical Pathways, Pre-Engineering/Robotics, Information Technology, Culinary Arts, Computer Science, Criminal Justice and more. Those who complete a CTE track graduate with real-world work experience and either industry credentials, college credits or both, in paths that the state has approved as aligned to a high-wage, high-demand career. Students do this alongside their existing general education coursework, so they can take AP classes or participate in extracurriculars with the rest of their classmates.
When Santomassimo, the valedictorian, entered the Medical Pathways program her freshman year of high school, she thought she wanted to do direct patient care. But the program鈥檚 work-based learning, including a placement at a nursing home, helped to change her mind: 鈥淚 realized direct patient medicine isn鈥檛 for me because I don鈥檛 like blood鈥Then] [s]chool helped me get set up with an internship at an engineering site鈥so I鈥檓] back on the science and research end, not direct patient care.鈥
Santomassimo credits Medical Pathways with helping her carve out a specific vision for her future. 鈥淚 really want to do research鈥o help inform public policy,鈥 she said. At Brown, she plans to double major in physics and political science.
Students who complete that pathway, which is available at both high schools, leave with healthcare workplace safety training and a CPR and First Aid certification. They have the option of completing a certified nursing assistant or emergency medical technician certification. Even though she isn鈥檛 planning to become a healthcare practitioner, Santomassimo has no regrets about the hands-on classes she took. She completed 40 patient hours as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) in training and successfully passed her licensing test this summer after graduation: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a really good certification to have and will never not be a needed job. I will have that certification as a backup if I ever need it.鈥
Cranston Superintendent Jeannine Nota-Masse has seen the benefits of exposing students to passions and careers: 鈥淎t both our high schools, we have an educator training program. You鈥檇 be surprised at how many students [say] 鈥業 love little kids, little kids are so funny,鈥 and then go into it and don鈥檛 love it. They have that hands-on experience before their parents pay for college and they realize 鈥極h I really don鈥檛 want to be a teacher.鈥欌
Graduating high school with college credits in hand is another way that the CTE tracks across Cranston help save students time and money. Mark Lizarda, part of East鈥檚 second-ever Medical Pathways cohort, graduated with college credits from three different institutions under his belt, not to mention a high score on the AP Calculus test, which converts into college credit.
In 2024, Lizarda won first place in the Medical Terminology exam at the SkillsUSA championship, a national CTE organization for students, and is attending University of Rhode Island this fall. 鈥淭hose three years [were the] hardest classes I鈥檝e ever taken, but that鈥檚 the reason I stayed. It was so captivating and rigorous. I wanted to prepare myself for college.鈥
The programs also benefit CTE participants who choose to go directly to the workforce. For example, culinary students graduate with food handling and food safety certifications, Information Technology students graduate with CompTIA certifications and all CTE programs include a financial literacy class. 鈥淚f your child wants to get a job after high school and they have no skills whatsoever, it’s going to be difficult,鈥 Nota-Masse said. 鈥淏ut if they even have entry-level skills, they are still more competitive in the job market than their peers who don鈥檛.鈥
Farrell sees the inherent value in a program that connects to student interests. 鈥淔orget credentials,鈥 he said. 鈥淚f students really enjoy the program that they’re in and are learning and having fun and it’s part of their identity, I think you can鈥檛 really put a price tag on that.鈥
The aquaculture path at West, the only one of its kind in the state, is a model for making learning fun and practical. Rhode Island is known as the Ocean State, and its over 400 miles of coastline are crucial to the economy. Launched by longtime science educator Leonard Baker in 2000, the aquaculture path prepares students for careers in the state鈥檚 fish hatcheries and shellfish farms or for further study in the biological sciences.
With access to an on-campus aquarium, laboratory, pond and greenhouse, students learn about water chemistry, aquatic plant science and how to breed fish. Baker sets every student up with their own aquarium to practice keeping plants and animals alive: 鈥淭hey say 鈥業 can鈥檛 stand chemistry,鈥 but they鈥檙e measuring water temperature and pH balance鈥hey say 鈥業 can鈥檛 stand insects,鈥 but they鈥檙e feeding frogs. We鈥檙e making science meaningful, relevant and important to students.鈥
Every single senior who has completed Baker鈥檚 program has been accepted to a four-year institution. On top of that, many of the people running the state鈥檚 fisheries are graduates of his program, and one even started a fishery in another state. Some go on to careers in nursing or other healthcare professions because they鈥檝e had exposure to complex refrigeration and filtration systems and extensive practice working in teams.
Stephen Osborn, who leads statewide opportunities for students at the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), credits the program for getting young people excited and ready for their future: 鈥淭hey can鈥済et a job after graduation if they want, but [the program is] also preparing many of them to go onto college. Kids are doing incredibly complex things in their classrooms and they don鈥檛 realize it because they鈥檙e having fun.鈥
A between RIDE and, launched in 2018, helped unlock changes that enabled Cranston to give students more options. Cranston high schoolers previously had rotating daily schedules, like most high schools, but switched to a college-style schedule where students only take four classes a semester and are in them for almost 90 minutes instead of 50. This way, students get longer blocks of time for hands-on and work-based learning.
鈥淚t took a lot of professional development and a lot of community communication,鈥 said Nota-Masse, reflecting on the process. 鈥淧eople kept saying 鈥榢ids won鈥檛 be able to sit in a class for 84 minutes, they鈥檒l go crazy.鈥 We鈥檙e not saying we do that perfectly, but if you鈥檙e in construction and you鈥檙e working on a project, 84 [minutes] is certainly better than 50 [minutes] to start and clean up.鈥 These technical changes allowed Cranston to expand CTE programs, while keeping room in the schedule for AP courses, electives, special education services or services for English language learners.
Cranston Public School District is a powerful leader in the state, but it鈥檚 not alone. is the new statewide initiative, with the goal that all of Rhode Island鈥檚 kids take at least one CTE course before they graduate. Coursework that鈥檚 rigorous and relevant is helping to unlock students鈥 freedom of choice. Says Osborn: 鈥淲e don鈥檛 tell [students] whether to go to college or work. They have the skills and an open door to choose what they want to do after high school.鈥
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