Cranston Public Schools is pleased to announce that the district is a recipient of the Rhode Island Department of Education’s CTE MLL + Equity Grant which will support the district’s Multilingual Learners (MLLs) in accessing Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs at both Cranston High School East and the New England Laborers/Cranston Public Schools Construction Career Academy charter high school. The district’s MLL Coordinator, Cheryl Anderson has been an essential collaborator throughout the grant application process.

The district received $56,000 which is to be spent in part by September 2023 and in total by June 30, 2024. According to both Ken Hopkins Jr., Director of the Cranston Area Career and Technical Program and Lindsey Tavares, Executive Director for NEL/CPS, the grant money will help to close the gap in overall CTE enrollment for MLL identified students, as compared to the overall enrollment of CTE students district-wide.

At Hugh B. Bain Middle School specifically, there is a large subgroup of MLL identified students (38.4%) and at NEL/CPS the overall MLL population is 11% and the MLL enrollment in the school’s Event Planning and Tourism CTE program is 14%. These students would benefit from additional support in middle school accessing the information for the high school transition process, including the option of pursuing a career and technical education in addition to their traditional high school program.

Anderson: “Cranston has seen a significant increase in our MLL population. We are fortunate to receive the grant to continue to improve communication between our middle and high schools,” said Anderson. “The grant will allow Cranston to provide additional collaboration and communication to best support our MLL students and families and share information about all of the wonderful CTE programs available at Cranston Career and Technical school and NEL/CPS, as well as fostering deeper relationships with community partners.”

Key elements of the plans in place to close the gap for Multilingual Learners include creating a MLL Family Liaison Program at NEL/CPS to help with family engagement, outreach and support in regards to the high school transition process and post-secondary plans for students beyond high school. It also includes increasing opportunities for career awareness and readiness in middle school, improving teaching and learning opportunities in high school, and partnering with post-secondary institutions.

The grant funding will provide increased engagement and awareness with middle school families, especially at Hugh B. Bain Middle School, translated communications and specific nights designed to welcome and support all MLL identified families. The grant money would also help to expand professional collaboration and professional learning around career and technical program language that would improve the overall achievement for students once they enter a CTE program.

Another critical part of the grant funding will focus on partnering with community partners and stakeholders in order to support multilingual learners and their families. Anderson will have a significant role in helping to foster these partnerships as well as helping to ensure the success of the grant in supporting the district’s MLL students and families.

“Cranston Public Schools is a very diverse district, and we are committed to ensuring that all of our students have access to all of our programs and services,” said Superintendent Jeannine Nota-Masse. “We are grateful to the RI Department of Education for their support, and we look forward to being able to enhance our communications, our CTE programs, and our family engagement and outreach in order to help our Multilingual Learners successfully navigate the transition to high school and beyond.”