Communities In Schools of Washington

The mission of Communities In Schools (CIS) and Communities In Schools of Washington is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

Communities In Schools of Washington (CISWA) is part of the nation’s largest dropout prevention program providing school-based Integrated Student Supports to children and youth most at risk of school failure. Our primary goal is to increase graduation rates for struggling students in Washington. Although Washington State has a graduation rate of 81% the graduation rate for some of our largest student populations falls well below this. Nearly half of the 1 million students in Washington public schools are classified as low-income and the four-year graduation rate for these students is 69%. Minority students make up 44% of the population and their graduation rate on average is 73%. By contrast, non-low-income students are 49% of the population and the graduation rate for these students is 89%. (OSPI, Graduation and Dropout Statistics Annual Report May 2017). The students most in need of graduation supports are reflected in the demographics of students served by CIS last school year: 84% were economically disadvantaged, 21% were English Language Learners and 16% were homeless.

While CIS referrals are generally for students who are struggling in school, poverty is often the underlying cause that CIS seeks to provide support. The NCES notes that low-income students fail to graduate at five times the rate of students from middle-income families (Trends in High School Dropout Rates, 2011) and the U.S. Census tells us three times more students of color live in poverty than their white peers (Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance in the U.S., 2012) and 58% of students served by CIS are students of color.

The Alliance for Excellent Education notes that increasing the graduation rate to 90% in the U.S. would bring 660,000 more high school graduates into our economy each year. This would generate $8.1 billion in additional annual earnings and $661 million in annual state and local tax revenues. In Washington State alone, a 90% graduation rate for the class of 2012 would have created 2,200 more jobs and over $220 million more in annual spending.

CISWA has demonstrated success working with the highest risk students; of secondary students referred for individualized services in 2018-2019, 98% stayed in school, graduated, or obtained a GED. CISWA is committed to expanding school based supports and interventions to more communities in Washington State to better serve high risk student populations and ensure more students are on track to graduate.

Communities In Schools provides students with a one-to-one relationship with a caring adult called a site coordinator. Site coordinators serve as trusted case managers, connecting students with needed community resources and school-wide support programs. The goal is to help each student graduate by building upon their abilities and assets and addressing barriers to success, such as a lack of basic necessities, lack of engagement, or unstable home situations. Site coordinators work closely with school staff, teachers, and parents to help students improve attendance, behavior, and academics—both on an individual level and at a school-wide level.
To prepare students to learn, site coordinators partner with local organizations to bring resources directly to students in school. This coordination solves a critical problem where students need goods or services, but lack access to them outside of school. For example, if a student cannot afford dental services, site coordinators may partner with local dentists to donate dental services to the student. Site coordinators may work with students who face behavior problems, connecting them with mentoring programs or peer support groups. In another case, site coordinators may work with at-risk high school students to prepare them for college and career applications. The ultimate goal of Communities In Schools is to surround students with a community that cares, empowering them to develop future plans to achieve their own goals.
The state office of Communities In Schools of Washington provides capacity-building supports to the independent local affiliates in our network. These supports include organizational sustainability, effective service delivery, expansion, advocacy, and local resource development. The state office also ensures that affiliates comply with policies and service standards set by the national office of Communities In Schools. As a network, we aim to provide the highest quality of service to the greatest number of students in need.

Communities In Schools of Washington (CISWA) has been reaching more students and delivering increasingly effective site coordination support resulting in consistent and increasingly impressive outcomes for kids since 1991. The statewide network is led by Susan Richards, State Director, whose expertise and extensive experience are widely recognized locally and nationally. In 2014, she was invited by Washington State elected leaders to present the work of CISWA to two high-level state leadership events; the Cascade Conference and the Governor’s Conference on Education.

One of the ways that CISWA is able to deliver the highest quality product is through the CIS accreditation of its affiliates, which ensures fidelity to the successful service model. The state office’s Program Director, Michelle Scheving, also serves as an accreditation reviewer with the national office of Communities In Schools.

CISWA began serving students and delivering progressively effective Integrated Students Supports in 1991. Our results are consistent and increasingly impressive for the students of Washington State.

Our CIS network serves 27 school districts across Washington, including the four largest districts and two other districts in the top ten. In 2018-2019, we expanded services into North Central Washington, serving two rural school districts in Douglas County. Our affiliates in Federal Way and Renton are also expanding respectively into Highline Public Schools and Tukwila School District. As we look toward future years, our goal is to bring the successful CIS model to new communities and deepen our network's impact in the communities we already serve.