Millions of young people have lost the traditional safety nets that used to provide love and security even when their nuclear family was in trouble. Extended families, close-knit neighborhoods, churches, synagogues, or mosques—all could be counted on to respond. But now the safety net is too often stretched to the breaking point.
Communities in Schools (CIS) creates a new, caring community—a new safety net for kids. By bringing existing resources and services—as well as parents and volunteers—into a school, the program meets children's needs so that they can concentrate on learning. Parents give their approval to each child's participation in the program. As parents become involved and volunteer their time, they themselves often benefit from parenting classes and other family-skills initiatives that partner organizations offer.
Founded in 1977, Communities in Schools (formerly known as Cities in Schools) reaches more than 300,000 young people annually in more than 1,000 public schools. Its mission is to champion the connection of needed community resources with schools to help young people successfully learn, stay in school, and prepare for life. The program brings to the school community service providers, such as health care and mental health professionals, to work as a personalized team serving alongside parents, teachers, principals, volunteers, and mentors.
Providing Life's Basics
Communities in Schools believes that all young people need and deserve four basics: (1) a personal, one-on-one relationship with a caring adult; (2) a safe place to learn and grow; (3) a marketable skill to use after graduation; and (4) a chance to give back to peers and community.
In 1997, Communities in Schools and America's Promise-The Alliance for Youth joined forces philosophically and practically. The principles of Communities in Schools now form the core of America's Promise (see box, p. 36).
Local Communities in Schools programs are independently incorporated, nonprofit public/private organizations. Each local program has a board of directors, an executive director, and a project director, and each promotes partnerships that span communities, cities, or counties to meet local needs. Each organization obtains the funding and resources for its activities. Some programs found academies; some offer classes and after-school programs at schools, churches, or community centers; some bring doctors, nurses, and mentors into schools; some bring help to the places children and their families live; and some take children into the community for service-learning projects. Each program works to get students to stay in school and make positive life choices. Communities in Schools serves as a broker to bring partners together to meet varying community needs, such as those in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina, and El Paso, Texas.
Volunteerism in Charlotte
- More than 900 volunteers from 170 area corporations spend time each week with Charlotte-Mecklenburg students as tutors, mentors, lunch buddies, and pen pals. Many area churches provide both volunteers and financial support, and three program sites are located in church buildings.
- Civic organizations, such as the Junior League, the Kiwanis Clubs, and the Rotary Clubs, provide career mentors, tutors, and financial support.
- Health service providers, such as dentists and dental hygienists, volunteer each week to clean teeth and give basic exams to students.
- Hands On Charlotte and the Junior League work with Communities in Schools to help students develop community-service projects in their neighborhoods. Adult volunteers work side-by-side with the young people to guide and model the value of giving back to the community.
Communities in Schools of Charlotte-Mecklenburg encourages parents to participate in all programs. For example, at Highland Elementary School, the organization has created a Community Haven that is open year-round. It offers after-school programs for the children, including art, dance, and community-service programs. Parents are involved in many of these projects and also participate in parent training classes and a computer lab.
A team of workers at the Community Haven helps both parents and children. One school social worker goes out into the community and meets with families who are expecting a child or who have small children at home. The school thus connects with families even before their children begin kindergarten. The Haven also holds social events for parents, students, teachers, and staff. After attending one such event, parent Maya Moore said, "As a single mother, it's hard to raise three children, but CIS has been a blessing." Acting as a community broker, Communities in Schools found resources for Moore's kids—clothes, bikes, and other things she could not afford to buy for them.
Opportunities in El Paso
- The Cesar Chavez Academy provides a safe place to learn for 130 students who are former gang members. The students have been expelled from their home schools, have been court-ordered to attend, or are living in a halfway home after having attended a state school. Parental involvement, mediation sessions, and conflict-resolution strategies help unify these former members of warring gangs.
- Youth Opportunities Unlimited motivates younger students by providing summer work experience at a local university. Students ages 14 and 15 spend the summer on a college campus working with volunteers in laboratories and department offices.
- A family literacy program, Even Start, presents English as a Second Language for adults who speak only Spanish. The curriculum covers reading and writing for the entire family, if possible, including those seeking a GED.
Communities in Schools-El Paso emphasizes parenting and early childhood development. The program provides prekindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds, parenting and prenatal care classes, and pregnancy education classes for teenagers.
A good example of how partnerships work is the El Paso group's collaboration with Rainbow Days (another nonprofit organization, founded in 1982) to form the Kids Connection. This program focuses on families in poverty and other difficult circumstances. In support groups of no more than 15 parents per group, Kids Connection staff teach parents how to raise a resilient child and how to build dreams for the future. Staff member Mona Izquierdo says:Many parents may only know the life of a factory worker, for instance, and cannot envision the future of an engineer. Why? Because they are not familiar with such a career or the opportunities to attain it. This session opens the doors for parents to dream, and gives them the know-how to teach their children.Kids Connection also encourages the children to discuss these same issues. Then the parents and children take a field trip to a place of business, giving them the opportunity to use their new knowledge and strengthen bonds.
Successful local collaborations, such as the Communities in Schools programs in Charlotte and El Paso, have earned the organization a growing list of national partners—including ASCD. The two organizations are exploring how to replicate a current partnership between Communities in Schools and ASCD in Georgia, where ASCD members learn how the program addresses young people's nonacademic needs.
