Our site coordinators work hard to ensure that students have the resources to progress academically. From providing students with tutors, to finding and creating quiet spaces where students can study, we do whatever it takes to create an optimal learning environment for our students. We also provide a wide range of information and opportunities for college-bound and career-minded students. Many of our kids have a limited frame of reference of what their careers can be, so an important part of our job is making them aware of the possibilities and encouraging them to “dream big”. From there, we help them understand and meet the requirements to ultimately achieve their goals.
As we enter a new year and wrap up the holiday season, Communities In Schools (CISTM) affiliates across the country are continuing to provide students and families with what they need. Not only are we providing school supplies, but we are also supporting students with new learning spaces, food, and words of encouragement.
Millions of students, especially Black and Brown children in the communities most affected by the coronavirus crisis, job loss, and the nation’s racial reckoning, have been feeling disconnected and distressed as schools reopened this fall in what was a “historically chaotic” school year.
This fall, Communities In Schools® (CIS) is working in schools and beyond the classroom to ensure all students have the same opportunity to succeed, whether they are learning at school or at home. CIS affiliates across the country are reengaging with students and connecting them with local resources to ensure that their basic physical, social, emotional, and educational needs are met.
Schools are the heart of every community. When they closed, it disrupted student learning and cut kids off from basic supports like meals, clothing, housing assistance, and medical care. It also separated students from the caring adults inside schools who supported their emotional well-being. Now as schools begin to reopen – whether in person or virtual – we’ll still be there, by their side, helping them realize their full potential.
By Gloria Andela
Communities In Schools® (CIS™) will do whatever it takes to help students reengage in learning, recover from the emotional trauma of the last several months, as well as reimagine their learning environments so they’re safe, effective, and equitable. Through the Summer and into the school year, CIS will continue to connect students with community resources like food, housing support, health care, materials to help them to continue their learning, and emotional support. CIS will continue to be a constant presence in the lives of our students and their families. Here are 6 ways to reduce COVID-19 learning loss and to supplement virtual learning as kids prepare for a school year either in the classroom or virtually.
As an unprecedented academic year grinds to an end, with schools shuttered and millions of children learning remotely in every state, education leaders face the daunting task of preparing for a fall reopening with no end to the pandemic in sight. Back to school will not be back to normal. But neither should it be a return to business as usual. Arne Duncan and Rey Saldaña shared this story in their opinion article in a recent USA Today article.
In the face of the coronavirus crisis, Communities In Schools is going beyond school walls to meet students where they are and ensure that their basic needs don’t go unmet.
By Steve Majors
At Communities In Schools we’ve now moved beyond the school walls, to provide vulnerable students with the resources they need to stay healthy, maintain their progress in school and most importantly, deal with issues of anxiety and trauma they may be feeling during this time of crisis.
By Anais Hernandez
When I was told by my Communities In Schools coordinator, Ms. Luna, that I would be traveling to Washington, D.C. for the unveiling of my mosaic art piece, I couldn't believe it! I was so excited to travel somewhere I had never been before. When I arrived at D.C. I first felt out of my comfort zone; I was far away from Los Angeles, on a different coast, with different people. Having my mom and mentor there with me gave me the strength I needed to face all these new experiences.
By Elizabeth Tuten
A recent Brookings Institute literature review found that on average, students' achievement scores declined over summer vacation by one month's worth of school-year learning. But for millions of students, it’s the educational relapse that occurs when school is out for the summer months. The U.S. Department of Education released a report in May of 2018 that highlighted the even greater backslide for students who may not have access to summer camps, libraries, zoos, aquariums, and museums due to location or socioeconomic status.
PDK Poll Finds Public Doesn’t Support Using Taxpayer Funds For Tuition at Private, Religious Schools; Favors Diversity But Unwilling To Do Much to Achieve it
Communities In Schools (CIS) announced today that it will receive a $15 million grant from Ballmer Group to advance its work inside public schools.
By Megan Walker Grimaldi
Communities In Schools Director of Research, Megan, shares why site coordinators play a pivotal role in helping at-risk students in the CIS network make it to the graduation stage.
By Megan Hoel
A OpEd from CIS National office Vice President, Government Relations, Tiffany Miller and CIS of Los Angeles Executive Director, Deborah Marcus discuss how extra support for low-income students can close the achievement gap.
By Megan Hoel
Inside Philanthropy speaks to Debra Montanino about the importance of nonprofits in K-12 philanthropy.
By Megan Hoel
A recent article from Latino magazine features CIS President and CEO, Dale Erquiaga discussing the importance of ESSA on English Language Learners and graduation rates.
By Steve Majors
NPR looks at how CIS of Atlanta helped students affected by a cheating scandal
When school is out, working parents often scramble to find affordable options for keeping their children safe, accountable and engaged.
Communities In Schools has announced a substantial contribution from AT&T to help students stay in school and achieve in life.
Communities In Schools will host its Leadership Town Hall conference in New Orleans from Jan. 21 - Jan. 23, 2015.
CIS Announces 2015 National Yearbook to Celebrate Amazing Grads and Successful Students.
By Tres'Rionna Whitlock
Where are they now is a series that follows up with students who were helped by CIS.
By Steve Majors
Communities In Schools (CIS) has released its 2015 National Impact Report demonstrating its effectiveness in helping nearly 1.5 million students in almost 2,400 schools
Communities In Schools has announced the winners of its annual Unsung Heroes Awards, given to honor site coordinators, schools, communities and local affiliates as the best across the country for their exemplary work in helping students succeed in school and achieve in life.
One million students and CIS staff in 26 states and Washington, D.C. will receive Microsoft Office 365 at home, for no cost to them, thanks to a three-year collaboration with Microsoft and technology partner COMPAREX.
By Steve Majors
January is National Mentoring Month and this week, we’re reading about ways in which Communities In Schools uses mentoring to place a caring adult in the lives of students.
By Steve Majors
A personal story about how one student narrowly overcame adversity.
By Steve Majors
CIS Students, Site Coordinators and Leaders Ring NYSE Opening Bell
In this week's "What We're Reading," we recap the many ways in which CIS changed the picture of education in 2014.
Book Discounts at Hudson Create Holiday Donations for Communities In Schools
Katelyn Franzen honored at Glamour's 2014 Women of the Year awards gala at Carnegie Hall
Communities In Schools publishes a letter to the editor in the New York Times explaining the success of the community schools model.
By Steve Majors
A South Central Texas teen, served by Communities In Schools of South Central Texas, has been recognized as one of Glamour Magazine's Bravest Women in the World.
By Steve Majors
Tonight at its annual Women of the Year Awards dinner, Glamour is set to announce the Girl Project, a collaboration with four nonprofits - including Communities In Schools - to raise money for girls to help them attend secondary school.
By Dan Cardinali
Dan Cardinali, president of Communities In Schools, the largest dropout prevention program in the country, comments in the Atlanta Journal Constitution about why education could be the perfect antidote to voter cynicism.
By Steve Majors
CIS Executive Vice President Gary Chapman talks to U.S. News and World Report about the role of after-school programs in decreasing dropout rates.
Eight affiliates of Communities in Schools (CIS) have been named among 30 organizations nationwide that will share in nearly $12.5 million from the AT&T Aspire RFP.
By Elaine Wynn
For the national economy, education is the tide that lifts all boats. If American workers had just one additional year of education, S&P estimates the U.S. Gross Domestic Product would increase by $525 billion over five years.
By Dan Cardinali
Children living in poverty are by far the most likely to be chronically absent from school. The key to keeping these kids in school is to put dedicated social-service specialists in every low-performing, high-poverty school.
By Michael F. Shaughnessy
A Q&A with Communities In Schools President Dan Cardinali on the organization's Unsung Heroes