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Next at Health, Science School: More Internships for Students

Posted on: Tuesday, 27 December 2005, 18:00 CST

By LINDA BORG Journal Staff Writer

Joining with more businesses is on the agenda at the Health, Science and Technology Academy.

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PROVIDENCE - Catherine Oneppo will always remember this piece of advice from a former mentor: If you don't shake up your life every five years, you run the risk of standing still.

Oneppo, who is the new principal of the Health, Science and Technology Academy on Thurbers Avenue, has certainly heeded that adage.

She began her career in the early 1970s as a health teacher at Central High School, taught physical education at Mount Pleasant High School and then took seven years off to raise her three children.

By the time Oneppo returned to the classroom in 1986, the city's student population had changed, becoming dramatically more diverse. Her first assignment was at Perry Middle School, where she taught biology to some of the most difficult students in the school.

"I had the worst kids," she recalled during an interview yesterday. "I went home crying every day."

But her persistence paid off. In 1986, Perry's eighth grade class voted her Teacher of the Year.

"I loved the classroom," she said. "I did all of the extras -- writing grants, creating a Christmas bazaar."

But Oneppo decided she needed a change, so she returned to teaching at the high school level. She wound up spending nine years at Central High School, first as a physical education instructor, and later as a department head.

Fast-forward to the late 1990s. Providence decided to open a small new high school that would offer students hands-on experience in the fields of health, science and technology. Oneppo applied to design the school's curriculum; it opened on Fountain Street five- and-half-years ago.

Oneppo has been at the school of 400 students ever since, and last year, she was hired as its assistant principal. When Principal Scott Sutherland left in late August to become one of three leaders at Hope High School, Oneppo effectively took over the helm at HSTA.

That experience, she said, prepared her to assume the principal's job, to which she was appointed last week.

"I had good training," Oneppo said. "I wrote grants, dealt with No Child Left Behind, organized internships and wrote curriculum. This was a natural next step."

HSTA, she said, has been successful in creating a sense of community out of whole cloth. The next challenge is to deepen the school's academic mission by offering more internships at hospitals and businesses. The school is already placing students in internships at Lifespan, Roger Williams Hospital and St. Joseph Hospital.

"The challenge," she said, "is bringing in new partners."

Oneppo hopes to offer a college-level course in biotechnology this fall, taught by the University of Rhode Island.

She is applying for a grant to finance classes for students to attend the certified nursing assistant program offered by the Community College of Rhode Island. She is also determined to make use of the school's health clinic, which the school has been unable to staff because of financing problems.

In the meantime, Oneppo is enthusiastic about working on the basics: improving attendance, increasing higher-level math skills and getting every teacher to teach writing. All of the faculty are reading the book A Framework for Understanding Poverty, which they will discuss in groups large and small.

Finally, Oneppo hopes to bring stability to a school that has had four principals in five years.

"I love it here," she said. "This my heart and soul. It's where I belong."

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Catherine Oneppo is the principal of the Health, Science and Technology Academy in Providence.

JOURNAL PHOTO / ANDREW DICKERMAN

Source: Providence Journal

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