The Future of Our Country Starts With Our Students
The evidence, the history, the research, all tells us what we need to do. The question is whether we have the courage to rebuild the system of public education in a way that is just and equitable for all students.
Rey Saldaña President and CEO, CIS National
Our Commitment to DEI
Communities In Schools® (CIS®) believes that transformative relationships are key to unlocking a student's potential. We will succeed by including in our strategies, ingraining in our culture, and reflecting in our behaviors, principles and practices of diversity, equity, and inclusion. As a result, we break down immediate and systemic barriers to create and sustain equitable outcomes.
WHAT ARE THE ISSUES STUDENTS FACE?
Many of our students are facing multiple issues, which were exacerbated by the pandemic.
Poverty
Systemic racism
Lack of access to resources
Emotional trauma, and more
Watch the video to learn more.
Creating New Pathways to Achieve Equitable Learning for All
Now more than ever, we must reimagine public education and find new ways to create equitable conditions for learning for ALL students, with students at the center, surrounded by a caring community with access to all necessary resources.
Hi! My name is Q’Derrin. I'm an alumnus of Communities In Schools of Memphis. In November 2022, the CIS National Office invited alumni from across the country to attend their annual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Summit, and I was able to attend!
Across the country, the Communities In Schools network showed up in a big way to celebrate Black History Month, whether they were introducing high school students to post-secondary opportunities at historically Black colleges and universities, adorning their school hallways with student artwork and motivational quotes from Black leaders, or involving the entire student body in Black history themed activities.
We’re calling on YOU to help us create equitable learning environments that benefit and support all students.
THREE WAYS TO MAKE AN IMPACT
We need to understand that a lot of our students come already with many traumas. We need to provide services that will help them and guide them.
Nadia Hernandez DEI Sr. Project Associate, CIS National
As you work with your stakeholders to launch and move through your DEI journey, you will want to create dialogues and planning sessions where they can voice their concerns, apply their insights, and build toward agreement on actions.
Cynthia Silva Parker Interaction Institute for Social Change
On our journey towards becoming an equity-minded organization, awareness is our starting point. But it’s not a passive awareness that suggests only ‘I heard we’re doing something about DEI.’ It’s an active awareness that constantly looks for ways to better understand definitions in ways that are unique to the CIS family.
Aisha Robinson CIS of Chicago
In pursuit of equity, innovation will be the key to our success. We are identifying nontraditional staff recruitment opportunities. We will provide DEI training plans for each staff member that is specific to their area of work and aligned to our mission and goals.
Sharon Vigil, Chief Operations Officer CIS of Central Texas
Resources from the 2022 DEI Summit
The 2022 DEI Summit: The Power of IN: Included, Involved, Inspired was a huge success! This was the first year that the Summit was open to our entire network, and it was absolutely unforgettable! From our pop-up celebration at the Lincoln Memorial to powerful speakers to our first-ever 30-minute crash courses, the momentum we created together feels unstoppable. Check out some of the resources from our DEI Summit to support DEI efforts in your community.
This year’s Community Matters Report takes a different approach than recent versions. Our 2022 report is one part of our effort at Communities In Schools® …
This Data Book provides an overview of CIS organization and licensed partner operations during the 2020-2021 school year. Data are reported on human resources, student …
The future of our country starts with our students and continues with our alumni. If you are a CIS alumni,
we encourage you to join our community of changemakers. To support alumni engagement efforts, we also have a new Alumni Activation and Resource Guide, which you can download below.