RINI Middle College

Our Mission

The RINI middle college exists to immerse each student in the setting and structure of a college, learning under the guidance of industry practitioners and with a concentration in health care professional opportunities. The school will offer each student the opportunity to gain nursing credentials and a high school degree while attending a supportive small secondary school.

Our Goals

The overall goals for the middle college are to open as a Rhode Island Public Charter School and offer a four year program for students entering the 10th grade.

During the four years at the Middle College, as the students work toward a high school diploma, they will be immersed in a facility that mirrors a college atmosphere, spending time on a college campus and being taught by college level faculty using college approved texts and curricula. During those four years of high school, students will accumulate college credits as well as the skills and confidence to independently succeed at college. The students will not receive their Middle College diploma until the end of their 12 plus year.

Our Faculty

In support of the overall school goal, the faculty will be comprised of college level instructors, nursing practitioners and a core of secondary level educators working together in learning community teams. Not only will the faculty work dependently on curricular issues but on student life issues as well. The results created by an engaging curriculum, the opportunity to earn college credit and the experiences at a personalized school will create expanded career and educational opportunities for the middle college's alumni.

What is the Rhode Island Nurses Institute?

The Rhode Island Nurses Institute (RINI) was established by the RI State Nurses Association in 2006 for the purpose of improving access to quality health care for all Rhode Islanders and to advance the nursing profession.

RINI's goal is enable motivated students, who might not otherwise have the opportunity, to pursue a career in nursing. Our objective is to ensure that these students have the academic preparation and other skills necessary to graduate from high school and go on to succeed in a college environment. We seek to close the achievement gap among students in high priority areas and will specifically target students in districts of intervention (i.e. Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls) through our outreach and recruitment efforts.

RINI has received strong support from the state's nursing schools for this charter school proposal and will work closely with educators, employers, policy-makers and other stakeholders to establish a successful middle college charter school program.

What is a Middle College Charter School?

The Rhode Island Nurses Institute (RINI) Middle College Charter School is an exciting and new charter school project that has been finally approved by the RI State Board of Regents.

This innovative school is a unique partnership between the state's leading professional nurses association, the state's leading health care employers and veteran RI Charter School Leadership.

The Middle College concept is also new to RI. At a Middle College Charter School, students will enter in the 10th grade and graduate at the end of the 12+ year. Because college courses will be taken for the four years of the Middle College experience, each graduate should have enough credits to leave high school as a college sophomore.

Why is the Middle College Needed?

Too few students in Rhode Island graduate from high school; and fewer still go on to get a college degree. The RINI Middle College Charter School intends to recruit heavily from among young men and women of diverse backgrounds in communities that are underrepresented in our state's colleges and universities.

Our nation is faced with a critical shortage of nurses and, according to a number of studies, the demand will continue to exceed the supply in the foreseeable future. This shortage will be especially severe in states like Rhode Island with a rapidly aging population. RINI believes that the Middle College Charter School of Nursing, combined with nursing scholarship programs and potential tuition forgiveness programs, will be a critical factor in ensuring that we have adequate numbers of well educated nurses to meet the health care needs of Rhode Islanders.

The Middle College Charter School of Nursing will give hundreds of students in RI the opportunity to get a high school diploma and go on to successfully complete a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. RINI will work with the RI Department of Education, the schools of nursing and other stakeholders to evaluate the project in terms of high school diplomas awarded, nursing school acceptance and graduation rates, and eventual employment in the health care field.