| Harnessing the power of community to help kids succeed | ||
| Our communities are full of people who want to help. We recruit and train community volunteers to work as mentors and tutors who provide consistent adult guidance, life skills modeling, and set the expectation for success. Our communities are full of established services that help children succeed. We broker them directly into our schools to help solve short-term setbacks resulting from lack or circumstance. Schools can't do it alone It takes family and community. By channeling community support directly to kids at school we promote student success, ease the burden on schools, and free teachers to teach. |
 BECOME A MENTOR
I'm Shaun Alexander.I didn't make MVP on my own. I had help along the way - people who believed in me and taught me to believe in myself. I had mentors. But some kids aren't so lucky. And they need YOUR help. With just ONE HOUR A WEEK you can make ALL the difference.  Become a mentor with Communities In Schools andBE A HERO.
 Luis is the oldest child of recent immigrants. Both parents speak little English and work long hours in the service industry.In elementary school Luis did OK, but in middle school he began to fall far behind his classmates, coming to school unprepared and without his homework. He became sullen and disengaged, telling his teachers and counselor, "I’m no good at school." His counselor referred him to a Communities In Schools program that helps struggling kids with one-to-one tutoring and matches them with mentors from an area high school. Twice a week, after school, Luis got help with his homework and was able to catch up with the rest of his class. And he met Enrico, his mentor, who provided encouragement and helped Luis make the connection between education and opportunity. By the end of the sixth-grade Luis had performed a complete turn-around. He graduated a solid B student and is determined to be the first in his family to go to college. | |
SPRING NEWSLETTER STORIES Impact of Prolonged Deployment on Military Kids Darius Henderson's father has served in Iraq for almost a year, and with his absence, Darius has struggled to make it through the sixth grade. "It's also hard to focus on school when I am worried about my dad being O.K.," says Darius. Darius's experience is not unique. Read more... March Gladness: Students Team Up to Serve Their Community For the third year in a row Communities In Schools will host a month-long program of community service projects, with young people in the lead. March Gladness gives students the opportunity to organize and carry out community drives, benefits and service projects, while developing leadership skills and service ethics in students. Read more... Communities In Schools and Reading Tree Team Up for March Book Blitz Communities In Schools of Lakewood (CISL) receives hundreds of books each month from Reading Tree and delivers them to students in Clover Park schools. Dave O’Keeffe, Director of CISL, explains that "many families in Lakewood do not purchase books because the money is needed for rent, clothing, food, and emergencies. This year we hope to give out over 10,000 books to kids in Clover Park schools." Read more... | ||
