McKee Administration Awards $5.5 Million to Expand Access to CTE Healthcare Career Pathways for Students Across Rhode Island
Published on Wednesday, September 30, 2026
GLOCESTER, RI – The McKee Administration today announced more than $5.48 million in awards to 14 Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and schools to expand healthcare-focused Career and Technical Education (CTE) opportunities for students across the state. These funding awards will focus on K-5 career awareness, grades 6-8 career exploration, and grades 9-12 career preparation, helping RI students discover and pursue interest in health careers
The Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) is supported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to improve the health and healthcare services of rural Rhode Islanders. Rhode Island is working towards a connected, community-based system that ensures every rural resident has timely, coordinated, high-quality care where they live. This program will build lasting infrastructure that empowers communities to lead their own health transformation.
The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), a recipient of State RHTP funds, awarded Ponaganset High School funding to strengthen a comprehensive healthcare workforce pipeline anchored by an on-campus physical therapy clinic, physical and occupational therapy programs, and a middle school wellness initiative that introduces students to healthcare careers and builds interest in the field from an early age. The Foster-Glocester Regional School District, which hosted the announcement, is the recipient of the state's largest award, totaling $1,360,343.
As part of Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green's CTE for All initiative, the awards will support the development and expansion of healthcare career pathways in rural Rhode Island communities, helping students gain exposure to high-demand fields such as nursing, emergency medical services (EMS), behavioral health, physical therapy, sports medicine, biomedical sciences, and other health professions.
Since 2019, Rhode Island has significantly increased the number of CTE programs available to students, from 203 to 365 high-quality programs, statewide. In that time, the number of CTE participants has grown from about 12,000 to more than 20,000, reflecting the state's commitment to expanding access to innovative, high-quality career preparation opportunities.
“Preparing the skilled healthcare workforce of tomorrow is essential to Rhode Island's long-term success,” said Governor Dan McKee. “Under Commissioner Infante-Green's leadership, Rhode Island has more than doubled Career and Technical Education opportunities, opening new doors for students in every corner of our state.”
“The investment of these federal funds will help expand and enhance healthcare-focused CTE programs, strengthen pathways to high-demand careers, and ensure more students, particularly those in rural communities, have access to the training and experiences needed to succeed in Rhode Island's growing healthcare sector,” said Executive Office of Health and Human Services Secretary Richard Charest.
"Expanding access to high-quality Career and Technical Education remains one of our top priorities because we know students thrive when learning is connected to their future goals," said Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green. "In line with our CTE for All initiative, RIDE continues to expand CTE, adding nearly 150 new programs since 2019, providing access to an additional 8,000 students. We are excited to begin the work to expand K-12 healthcare CTE programs in Rhode Island’s 18 rural communities.”
“These investments build on Rhode Island’s momentum by expanding high-quality healthcare career pathways, strengthening local communities, and ensuring more students graduate with the skills, experiences, and opportunities they need to thrive,” said Michael Grey, Chair of the Rhode Island Board of Education.
“CTE programs engage students with expanded work-based learning opportunities. These funds will strengthen partnerships with healthcare providers and higher education institutions and introduce more Rhode Island students to emerging healthcare careers as early as grade 6,” said Patti DiCenso, Chair, Rhode Island Council on Elementary and Secondary Education.
“We were honored to host today's announcement and showcase the innovative work taking place at Ponaganset High School and across the Foster-Glocester Regional School District,” said Renee Palazzo, Superintendent of the Foster-Glocester Regional School District. “This investment is about so much more than expanding educational opportunities. It is about creating a valuable resource for our community while preparing students for meaningful, high-demand careers. Through these funds, we will build a comprehensive healthcare workforce pipeline that gives students hands-on experiences, connects them with industry professionals, and helps them develop the knowledge and skills needed to achieve their goals.”
“We are incredibly excited about the opportunity this Rural Health Transformation grant provides for our students and our community,” said Scituate High School Principal Michael Hassell. “This investment will allow us to expand our successful Biomedical Science CTE Academy, bring Project Lead the Way health and biomedical learning opportunities to students in grades K–12, and develop new Emergency Medical Responder programming in partnership with our local emergency response community. We are also excited to strengthen our athletic training programming and provide students with authentic, hands-on experiences through a mobile emergency response training vehicle. Together, these initiatives will create a strong K–12 pathway for students to explore and pursue healthcare careers, helping prepare the next generation of professionals to serve rural Rhode Island communities.”
“The Rural Health Transformation Program Grant represents an exciting investment in both our students and our community, allowing Smithfield Public Schools to expand our Biomedical CTE program and, most importantly, establish a new Behavioral Health program,” said Smithfield Superintendent Lisa Odom-Villella. “By preparing students for meaningful careers in behavioral health, a field facing a critical need for qualified professionals, we are creating pathways to high-demand careers while helping strengthen access to essential services in our rural community.”
Award recipients include:
- Burrillville Schools – $928,574
Burrillville will expand a K-12 healthcare career pipeline through an enhanced Biomedical Sciences pathway and a new EMS/Health Sciences Learning Center focused on careers including EMS, nursing, phlebotomy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and sports medicine.
- Chariho Regional School District – $230,105
Chariho will develop a comprehensive K-12 healthcare career pipeline with districtwide career awareness programming and pathways in EMS, oral health, behavioral health, and community health.
- East Greenwich Public Schools – $710,619
East Greenwich will launch Rhode Island's first Pre-Medicine CTE program, modernize healthcare learning environments, expand work-based learning, and utilize advanced medical simulation and AI-supported clinical learning tools.
- Exeter-West Greenwich Regional School District – $128,768
Exeter-West Greenwich will establish a healthcare pathway focused on radiology technology, phlebotomy, physical therapy, and athletic training.
- Foster-Glocester Regional School District – $1,360,343
Foster-Glocester will create a healthcare pipeline anchored by an on-campus physical therapy clinic, physical and occupational therapy programs, and a middle school wellness initiative introducing students to health careers.
- Jamestown (Lawn School) – $25,604
Jamestown will launch a required eighth-grade Health Pathways exploratory course featuring CPR, First Aid, Stop the Bleed training, and healthcare career exposure.
- Little Compton School Department – $47,574
Little Compton will implement a K-8 initiative focused on health literacy, behavioral health awareness, and emergency preparedness in partnership with local first responders.
- Narragansett High School – $268,454
Narragansett will establish a healthcare pathway emphasizing physical therapy, rehabilitation services, sports medicine, and athletic training through clinical experiences and industry partnerships.
- North Kingstown High School – $31,188
North Kingstown will complete planning and design work for a future Community Integrated Health pathway, including career exploration, dual enrollment opportunities, and EMS partnerships.
- North Smithfield School Department – $235,775
North Smithfield will create a healthcare pathway featuring EMS and EMT training, biomedical sciences coursework, simulation technology, and dual-enrollment opportunities.
- Scituate School Department – $318,191
Scituate will expand its existing biomedical pathway into a K-12 healthcare pipeline while adding sports medicine, community health, and emergency response options.
- Smithfield Public Schools – $513,690
Smithfield will expand its biomedical sciences program and launch a new behavioral health pathway to prepare students for a broad range of healthcare professions.
- The Greene School – $28,542
The Greene School will connect outdoor experiential learning with healthcare career exploration through wilderness first aid, public health, EMS, and behavioral health experiences.
- Westerly Public Schools – $658,773
Westerly will enhance its Medical Careers and EMS pathway through updated simulation equipment, virtual reality training technology, and additional staffing and professional development support.
This project is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $156,169,931.19 with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CMS/HHS, or the U.S. Government.