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North Smithfield officials describe $300,000 rural health grant bid to launch EMT/health‑care CTE pathway
Summary
District administrators told the School Committee they applied for a rural health grant that could allocate $300,000 for a high‑school EMT/healthcare CTE pathway; staff cited other grant awards including Title I (~$190,000), Perkins (~$34,000) and a SERVE award (~$70,000) to support counseling and programmatic work.
District staff updated the North Smithfield School Committee on June 16 about recent grant activity and a potentially large rural health award that, if allocated, would fund a multi‑year emergency medical services (EMS) / healthcare CTE pathway at North Smithfield High School.
Claire (district grants lead) told the committee the application seeks an allocation that would provide the district with $300,000 in an initial round; she said the rural‑health program would set up classroom and lab space (including a mock ambulance) and course pathways where students could become EMT‑certified while in high school or soon after graduation.
"With these funds, North Smithfield High School will establish a healthcare career and technical education pathway with an EMS/EMT concentration," Claire said, describing the program as designed to help address local healthcare workforce shortages.
Administration also reported other awards and allocations: Title I funding near $190,000 directed to reading specialists; Perkins funds around $34,000 for business, pre‑engineering and CTE music; Title II supporting instructional coaching; Title IV (~$20,000) for student clubs; and a competitive SERVE grant of approximately $70,000 for extra high‑school counseling and supports tied to the February hockey incident.
Superintendent St. Jean highlighted district academic performance in the context of the grant work: "North Smithfield is significantly higher than Rhode Island averages," he said when summarizing ELA and math rankings across grade bands.
Committee members asked about timing, sustainability and whether grant funding requires local matches. Staff said the rural health grant is competitive and front‑loaded for equipment and initial training (three‑year project window was mentioned); the district would plan for sustainability beyond the award through curriculum integration and subsequent funding steps. If awarded, administrators said they hoped to know the outcome in July and begin implementation as soon as approvals and red tape were cleared.
No formal vote was taken on grant acceptance at the meeting; administrators said they will notify the committee when awards are finalized and will return with implementation details and any required budget adjustments.
