On a recent Wednesday morning, six Tiverton High School seniors, dressed in medical scrubs, gathered around a table in the school’s media center to talk about their expectations after graduation. Each said they intend to pursue a career in the medical field, and all agreed they have gotten a significant jump start on their plans thanks to their enrollment in their school’s Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program.

The CNA course offerings have attracted 31 students this year and are part of the high school’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) program, which has expanded steadily in recent years. Besides CNA training, the program includes engineering, carpentry, computer science, public safety/law enforcement and visual arts.

Depending on their interests and course load, some students have opted to participate in more than one program during their high school career.

Lee Cusumano, a chemistry teacher who also serves as the high school’s CTE director, credits Susan Craven for expanding the program after being appointed principal several years ago.

“Prior to her arrival, only two fields of study — engineering and carpentry — were offered,” she said. “Now there are six. The administrative team’s philosophy is to offer kids as much as you can in high school, so they leave with skills, they leave with knowledge, and they leave with options.”

Currently, out of a high school population of 448, more than 56 percent (252 students) are CTE participants. On graduation day, most will have earned not only a diploma, but solid real-world skills, industry credentials, and in some instances, college credits in the specific fields that interest them.

Districts throughout Rhode Island participate in the state-certified CTE programs, with varied offerings depending on the school. The Rhode Island Department of Education has established clearly defined guidelines that districts must follow to attain certification. Students are entitled to attend an out-of-district school at no charge to their families if they find an appealing CTE program not available at their own high school.

Assuming successful completion of the program, Tiverton’s CNA students earn certifications in CPR, First Aid, and AED (Automated External Defibrillator). All will be eligible to sit for the National Nurse Aide Assessment Program (NNAAP) exam, and each will earn 40+ clinical hours at Brookdale Sakonnet Bay, a senior living community in Tiverton with multiple layers of nursing care.

A full circle moment

Each of the six CNA students recently interviewed at Tiverton High School described an interest in helping people as one of the primary motivations for joining the program.

Others spoke of role models, such as parents, family members, or coaches (and even, in a few cases, the characters on the TV series Grey’s Anatomy) as their source of inspiration. Others, such as Lily Conway, had compelling personal experiences that led to their calling. 

Lily said she and her twin brother each weighed only three pounds at birth and were immediately admitted to the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Family stories about that experience, as well as her parents’ work in nursing homes, made it inevitable that she would gravitate to the high school’s CNA program. Her goal is to become a NICU nurse.

“I thought it would be a full-circle moment, and I would love to give the babies the kind of help we received. I definitely see myself being a support for the families.”

While at Tiverton Middle School, Sarah Souza joined a student group whose activities included working with students with intellectual disabilities. When she heard about the school’s CNA program in her junior year, she didn’t hesitate to sign on.

Sarah said she is looking forward to taking the NNAAP exam at the end of the school year, which will earn her a nursing assistant license, and she will then look into undergraduate programs in either nursing or occupational therapy.

Rhianna-Marie Lebreux said a softball coach who is a paramedic inspired her to pursue a career in medicine. Also, she was selected last year for a competitive paid internship at a medical center and “totally loved it.” Rhianna-Marie, who described Tiverton’s CNA classes as the best part of her day, said she will study emergency medicine and health science in college with a goal of working as a paramedic after graduation.

Eilish Condon was drawn to the high school’s CNA program because she plans a career as a physician’s assistant. She said the CNA certification she expects to receive before high school graduation will allow her to work while in college, and she will be able to apply the patient care hours towards her degree.

As part of the CNA program’s required offsite clinical training, Faiza Mahmood works as a dietary server at Brookdale Sakonnet Bay in Tiverton and said she will continue there after graduation before enrolling in a degree program for nursing. Her sources of inspiration includes a cousin who was part of the CNA program last year, as well as the CNAs and nurses she has met at Brookdale.

Claudia Lapointe said she always knew, growing up, that she’d find a job centered around helping people. She laughed as she described watching Grey’s Anatomy with her mom a couple of years ago, and thinking, “I need to do that!” While she is unsure of her exact career path, she, like her classmates, is confident she will pass the NNAAP exam and graduate with a nursing assistant license. 

Cusumano, who was mentioned several times by students as an inspiration and role model, displays an upbeat and enthusiastic attitude that clearly filters down to her students.

“I love teaching at Tiverton,” she said. “The students, families, faculty and administration are incredible… Every day our CNA students come to class prepared and ready to learn. Their attitude is not only commendable but it is inspiring.”