Communities In Schools of Charlotte Mecklenburg Inc.

CIS is guided by the larger vision of increasing the number of high school graduates, helping better position students to learn, and assisting students/families with accessing viable paths for post-secondary education/careers while fostering other opportunities for achievement, self-sufficiency, and educational equity. We are committed to ensuring that our students attend school daily, demonstrate positive youth development (including social-emotional learning), succeed academically, and are positioned for post-secondary success. CIS believes in our students, in their abilities and their amazing potential to take charge of their own stories. Our ultimate goal is to break down immediate and systemic barriers to create and sustain equitable outcomes.

With our focus on attendance, college/career readiness, and overall student well-being, the CIS model remains applicable--perhaps even more so-- as the school district and our community seek to reengage young people, address chronic absenteeism, promote post-secondary success, and foster a school environment benefitting ALL students. The role of CIS staff and the trusted relationships we build with students, families, and school personnel, coupled with our use of evidence-based programming grounded by needs assessment, community-asset mapping, and data-driven case management processes, uniquely position CIS to contribute to the necessary conditions for learning and, ultimately, educational equity.

Utilizing the evidence-based Integrated Student Supports delivery model, a foundational framework of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), and a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access (DEIA) lens, CIS staff comprehensively assess/identify student strengths and barriers, then deliver case-management tailored to meet each child's unique needs to help meet them where they are; set personal and educational goals; and stay on track to reach their full potential. Targeted interventions provide supportive services focused on Attendance, Behavior, Coursework, and Parent Engagement. These focused supports, along with SEL, college readiness/career development activities, and life/leadership skills help to ensure that students progress on a positive trajectory to and through high school and beyond, unlocking their boundless potential and securing their own future.

Trained CIS Site Coordinators serve as pivotal, trusted, and consistent points of contact for students and their families. Parents and caregivers have shared that they see CIS staff as ("go to") critical connectors to vital programming, information/services and school/community resources. We work collaboratively with the entire school team (teachers/Student Support Teams/administrators), the district, and other community agencies to address key needs of our students, their families and neighborhoods, and the schools with which we partner. CIS staff ensure that resources are accessible, coordinated, and maximized. Our strategic coordination reduces duplication of limited services and builds on the existing strengths and assets of schools and their surrounding neighborhoods to address the complexity of student and family needs. Our daily presence in the schools, relationships with school personnel and our students/their families, as well as our collaborative partnerships with other community agencies, sets CIS apart.

Our organization, which began in 1985 at a single school serving 80 students, now impacts the lives of over 5,800 young people annually at 56 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' (CMS) sites. CIS also assists an additional 30,000+ students at these same schools through school-wide programming, resource securement, and referrals to other county and agency supports. Our Comprehensive Service Delivery Model has expanded over the years from our school-based PreK-12 Intensive Student Supports (ISS)programming to also include Specialized Interventions that target/address specific chronic and increasing issues including college access/career readiness for low-income, first-generation students; support for teen parents balancing the challenges of childcare/high school graduation; assistance for youth who have been involved with the criminal justice system with their efforts to continue their education; serving immigrant/refugee/English Language Learner (ELL) students; and most recently, reengaging students who detached, disconnected, and/or disappeared from school during the pandemic and remote learning.

CIS is pleased to highlight the efforts of 70+ CIS staff who returned in-person to 55 Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools (44 Title I) for the 2021-22 school year.

Core outcomes:
* 65% of CIS students were not chronically absent. (CIS attendance data reflects local and national trends of decreased student engagement and increased chronic absenteeism due to lingering effects of pandemic (including mandatory quarantine).
* 99% of CIS students stayed in school.
* 97% of CIS students were promoted to next grade level.
* 84% of CIS students achieved or made progress towards their identified academic, attendance, and/or SEL goals.
* 383 CIS Seniors graduated this past June with 84% indicating plans to attend a 2 or 4 year college and 15% entering an apprenticeship, the military, or workforce.

Key outputs:
* Conducted School Assessment & created School Plan for each school.
* Over 5,400 case-managed students (Integrated Student Supports plus Specialized Interventions) received targeted student supports based on his/her Individual Student Assessment & Student Plan.
* 32,000+ additional students received broad school-wide services.
* 92,000+ direct services and referrals were provided to our student caseload and their families in the areas of critical needs; Social-Emotional Learning; parent/guardian engagement; academic enrichment/support; leadership/life skills; college/career readiness; and social capital.

Highlighted activities:
* Attendance/engagement/academic/behavior monitoring and interventions (as needed)
* Distribution of school supplies, clothing, hygiene items, other critical needs
* Parent/guardian phone calls, texts, home visits, newsletters, workshops
* Review of grades, credits, transcripts
* Check-ins
* Goal-setting
* Classroom observation
* Tips on organization, time-management, study habits, test-taking, etc.
* Social-Emotional Learning curriculum/activities
* Academic enrichment/support (book clubs, End-of-Grade (EOG) prep, cultural field trips, tutoring, etc.)
* Leadership/life skills
* College/career readiness
* Social capital opportunities
* Holiday sponsorships
* Quarterly recognition/ Year-end celebrations
* School-wide support (Open House, Attendance Awareness month, family nights, college & career fairs, Second Harvest Food Pantry, College Decision Day celebrations, translation, etc.)
* Community referrals to other community agencies and resources