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Narragansett School leaders seek federal grant to expand sports medicine into physical-therapy pathway
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Cummings told the committee the district will apply for a federal rural health-care development grant to expand its sports medicine program into sports medicine and rehabilitation professions focused on physical therapy, with partners including CCRI and possible URI collaboration; the expansion aims to provide industry-grade equipment and a pathway to a physical therapy assistant certificate for graduating students.
Narragansett Superintendent Dr. Cummings said the district has been invited to apply for a federal rural health-care development grant intended to expand the high school's sports medicine program into a sports medicine and rehabilitation professions pathway focused on physical therapy. "We are invited to apply for a federal grant that is being given for rural health care development," Dr. Cummings said, adding the district is eligible because of a partnership with Jamestown.
The proposal, which Dr. Cummings said staff have developed with Anthony Hassel, Kate Wilks, Gail, and John O'Brien, would outfit the program with professional-grade equipment and create partnerships with the Community College of Rhode Island and potentially the University of Rhode Island so students could earn a credential tied to physical therapy work. "We are hoping to partner with URI on that," Dr. Cummings said. "So that students will graduate with [a] physical therapy assistant certificate when they graduate from high school." The district described the grant as competitive but said the application is underway.
The expansion is framed as a continuation of the district's CTE work. Dr. Denton, the district's student services leader, said the CTE Explorations pilot is designed so students who need extra instructional time or supports can fully participate in career and technical education programs next year. "What this is doing is really supplementing and giving them the extra support and services and instruction that they need so they can be fully immersed when they're participating in their CTE programming," Dr. Denton said. He said paraprofessionals and CTE teachers will be involved in the pilot and called the course a district-designed intervention for students who need pre-teaching or reteaching to access CTE content.
District staff emphasized the grant's potential to strengthen a pipeline between secondary education and postsecondary workforce credentials: equipment, college partnerships and a focus on rehabilitation professions were repeatedly cited. Administrators said more details on the grant timeline and potential program specifics would be provided as the application progresses.
The committee took no formal vote on the grant at the meeting; Dr. Cummings characterized the item as an update and an invitation to apply. The district said it will return with more detail if the application advances.
