MIDDLETOWN
STANDARD VOLUME 1 / NO. 5 January 2003
BUILDING A LEARNING COMMUNITY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
MIDDLETOWN HIGH SCHOOL RECEIVES CHAMPLIN FOUNDATION AWARD
The Certificate of Initial Mastery program at Middletown High School has recently been awarded a grant in the amount of $196,400 from the Champlin Foundation to upgrade the Library Media Center and Presentation Room with state of the art technologies to support the Rhode Island Certificate of Initial Mastery initiative.
These funds will allow the school to build capacity in making the Certificate of Initial Mastery (CIM) initiative accessible to all students. The CIM is an endorsement on a student’s diploma that signifies that the student has met a high set of standards in English, Mathematics and Applied Learning. Students in this program complete a complex capstone project based on their personal interests.
This grant expands the available technology by providing a projection unit and laptop computer to facilitate student presentations. Further, this grant provides increased access to technological production tools for activities focused around the CIM in the form of a 24 bay wireless laptop portable lab, and an upgrade of an open lab and the library computer area .
The CIM initiative specifically addresses the major regulations for high school reform adopted by the Rhode Island Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education on January 9th. The CIM components such as a capstone project, portfolios, common assessments, the use of technological tools, applied learning, and personalization through the use of capstone advisors are all included in the Regents Regulations.
Middletown is one of the few high schools to receive a grant from the Champlin Foundation this year. Grant applications were required to focus on an innovation at the high school level. The Champlin Foundation awards millions of dollars to Rhode Island schools, libraries and land preservation efforts annually.