Communities In Schools (CIS) is an American non-profit organization that works within

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

and

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

s with the aim of helping

at-risk students An at-risk student is a term used in the United States to describe a student who requires temporary or ongoing intervention in order to succeed academically. Richardson, Val, comp. "At-Risk Student Intervention Implementation Guide." The Education ...

stay in school. CIS works with schools in 25 states and the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. With these schools, CIS with

basic needs The basic needs approach is one of the major approaches to the measurement of absolute poverty in developing countries globally. It works to define the absolute minimum resources necessary for long-term physical well-being, usually in terms of Co ...

including clothing, food,

life skills Life skills are abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable humans to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of life. This concept is also termed as psychosocial competency. The subject varies greatly depending on social no ...

, family engagement, and

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

. In February 2020, CIS announced that VIA Metropolitan Transit Board of Trustees chairman and former San Antonio City Councilman Rey Saldaña would become the new president and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

National evaluation

Overview

In 2005, CIS was awarded a 14 million dollar contract to evaluate its national network and programming."Program Development, Management, and Evaluation Services to Foundations and Non-Profits," ''ICF International'', p.2,

ICF International ICF International, Inc. is an American Public company, publicly traded consulting and technology services company based in Reston, Virginia. The company was founded in 1969, and as of 2019, had US $1.48 billion in revenue, with approximately 9,0 ...

was contracted to conduct the five-year longitudinal study titled 'The National Evaluation of Communities In Schools'. The study was designed to determine the effectiveness of the CIS model. Based on an in-depth analysis of 1,776 schools served by CIS, a comparative analysis of outcomes from more than 1,200 CIS served and non-CIS served comparison schools, and comparative analysis of CIS served students and non-CIS served students alongside in-depth case studies of students. The study was being conducted in three phases.

Results

According to CIS, their model is one of few, among dropout prevention programs, in the United States that is shown to keep students in school. They state that it is the only dropout prevention program in the nation with scientific evidence to prove that it can increase graduation rates. They also state that their model results in a higher percentage of students reaching proficiency in fourth- and eighth- grade reading and mathematics, when implemented with high fidelity. Finally, their report indicates that effective implementation of their model correlates more strongly with positive school-level outcomes (dropout and graduation rates, achievement, etc.), than does the uncoordinated provision of service alone. They state that this results in notable improvements of school-level outcomes in the context of the CIS model."Communities In Schools and the Model of Integrated Student Services: A Proven Solution to America's Dropout Epidemic," ''Communities In Schools National Office'', 2008, p.3-7,https://www.communitiesinschools.org/media/uploads/attachments/CIS_Policy20Brief_09-08-081.pdf"National Evaluation: Student-Level Studies," ''Communities In Schools National Office'', http://www.cisnet.org/about/NationalEvaluation/Normal.asp?Segment=3.0

References

External links

* {{Authority control Alternative schools in the United States Educational charities based in the United States Charities based in Virginia 1977 establishments in the United States Organizations established in 1977

National evaluation

Overview

Results

References

Further reading

External links