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July 25, 2010
UCAP has met all Rhode Island state
targets! More
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UCAP Director
Rob DeBlois puts the Central Falls
crisis in historical context
More
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View spring
newsletter online.
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April 12 and 19 - Providence
Journal
Julia Steiny
featured UCAP in a two-part series
in the Providence Journal on April
12 and 19 respectively.
The first article focuses on the
award-winning documentary about UCAP,
Accelerating America, and how it
puts a human face (three, actually)
on the challenges our kids face
every day. The second article delves
into the strategies our teachers are
constantly devising to help our
at-risk students succeed. To read
more click here.
- March/April 2009 - Brown
Alumni Magazine
The Lucky Man
"I was born on third
base," middle school principal Rob
DeBlois '82 AM says frequently. What
he means by this is that he was born
with advantages well beyond the
reach of most children.
Rob DeBlois reads and makes phone
calls in his office. After he goes
home at night, he'll make more
calls. For starters, he is white.
DeBlois grew up in an upscale
neighborhood across from a country
club in Pawtucket, Rhode Island,
just outside Providence. His family,
which owned a regional
oil-distribution company, had the
wherewithal to send him to a
Jesuit-run boarding school, where he
learned not only to love literature
but also to value social justice.
From there, he went to major in
English at the University of New
Hampshire. Tall and skinny, DeBlois
was a bit of a daredevil and the
rebel in a family of conservative
Republicans: the one who hitchhiked
and was arrested (inmates shaved his
head because they didn't like his
hippie looks). DeBlois hiked the
Appalachian Trail, and once lugged a
full turkey dinner into the White
Mountains so he and his friends
could celebrate Thanksgiving in one
of the overnight huts on the trail.
Then, one spring day during his
junior year of college, Rob DeBlois
dove into an unfamiliar falls and
struck his head on a rock beneath
the surface. His life would never be
the same. "After I broke my neck,"
he says, "I realized how incredibly
lucky I am."
More
- December 3, 2008
RHAM High School in Hebron, CT has arranged for a screening of the award-winning documentary, "Accelerating America," at their school on Thursday, December 11th at 7:00 PM.
The 2007-2008 school year brought a new partnership to UCAP via the documentary by filmmaker Tim Hotchner, "Accelerating America." A former counselor at the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, Amy Nocton, recognized Tim's name in association with the documentary. She viewed the trailer and decided that UCAP would be a great partner for her suburban high school students. Bringing urban and suburban kids together has benefits for both, and UCAP was excited with Amy's outreach and agreed to a partnership. RHAM students visited UCAP and UCAP students spent a day at RHAM; an eye-opening experience for both groups. The students decided to collaborate on a photojournalism project and that project has continued into this school year. Students will photograph their neighborhoods and share experiences, visit each other's schools again, and are in the process of determining what the final project will be.
In the meantime, RHAM High School has arranged for a screening of "Accelerating America" on December 11th at 7:00 PM in the school auditorium. RHAM students have been actively promoting the screening. UCAP Director Rob DeBlois and Tim Hotchner will both be present and will participate in a Q&A. For more information, contact Andrea Joseph at andrea.joseph@ucap.org.
- June 2008
Auction &
Walk-A-Thon Success!
- 2005: $4,000
- 2006: $8,000
- 2007: $14,000
- 2008 $21,585
Thanks To You Our Auction and
Walk-A-Thon Surpassed All
Expectations!
The On-line Auction Raised
$10,000
Corporate Sponsors Contributed
$8,750
Generous Donors Sponsored Student
Walkers to the Tune of $2,835
All Proceeds Support Beyond
School Programs
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August 10,
2008
Three Kids
Seen Closely on Film
The most Rhode Island
moment of the Rhode Island
International Film Festival probably
came on Thursday night when the
stars showed up on Broadway. “I’m
excited and I’m nervous,” said
Yazmine Lopez.
That’s understandable. She was
about to join a large crowd of
strangers to watch a very personal
piece of her life on the screen at
the Columbus Theater Arts Center. In
Accelerating America, she is the kid
you can’t stand and the one you root
for and the one who brings you damn
close to tears when she stands at
the podium at graduation in her
boffo white dress and says to Rob
DeBlois: “Thank you for not kicking
me out, even though I put you
through hell.”
More
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May 8, 2008
Documentary featuring unique Rhode
Island public school will premiere
at 34th Seattle International Film
Festival Providence, RI
-- ”Accelerating America,” a
documentary featuring the Urban
Collaborative Accelerated Program (UCAP)
a middle school, based in
Providence, Rhode Island, has been
accepted by the prestigious Seattle
International Film Festival for its
world premiere on June 13. The
Festival has been cited by the New
York Times, Variety, Film Comment,
and USA Today as one of the top five
festivals in North America and is
widely considered one of the most
popular audience festivals in the
world. More
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May 1, 2008
Verizon program helps students and
family members improve their
literacy skills by reading and
discussing the books together
More
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February 18, 2007 - Providence
Journal
Got No Gym But They Got Game
More
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October 12, 2006 - Providence
Journal
Families Want After School Programs
More (PDF)
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August 4, 2004 - Providence
Journal
Underwater Scientists Remember Their
Roots
More (PDF)
Articles by Rob DeBlois
When to Promote Students: Getting Credit for Work Mastered,
Not Time-in-Seat
What would it mean if promotion decisions
were based on whether students have actually learned what we
expect as specific grade levels rather than on their age or seat
time? Mr. DeBlois draws lessons from how one school as made this
shift. Read Article |
Download PDF
The Need for More Alternative Schools
Why is it that we provide ourselves with
many choices for worship, entertainment, and shopping, but only
one choice for the public education of adolescents?
Read Article
The
Canary in the Coal Mine: High School
Dropouts (PDF)
UCAP
receives $500,000 grant
(PDF)
At UCAP,
a Second Chance to Succeed
(PDF)
Got No Gym But
They Got Game (PDF)
UCAP Students
Learn About Ocean Exploration
(PDF)
Walking
Tall: Rob DeBlois Persists
(PDF)
Director's Message |
Rob's Resume | Rob DeBlois at Cranwell
Cranwell Fund |
Rob's Articles
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