Communities In Schools, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to empowering students to stay in school and achieve in life, released the results of an economic study, conducted by EMSI, one of the nation’s leading economic modeling firms.

The economic model was based on a subset of results form a recent five-year longitudinal national evaluation conducted by another independent research firm, ICF International. That evaluation concluded:

• Communities In Schools is unique in its ability to reduce dropout rates and increase on-time graduation rates
• The Communities In Schools model of intensive case management services through site coordinators produces the strongest reduction of dropout rates of any existing fully scaled dropout prevention program that has been evaluated
• The Communities In Schools model is effective across states, school settings, grade levels, and student ethnicities

“This analysis of the Communities In Schools (CIS) model reminds us that the nation’s students are its best investment, and the best economic stimulus is a high school diploma, ” said Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia. “The return on investment that CIS generates is one that any private sector investor would snap up in a minute.”

Using the dropout and graduation results for the school-level study, and basing their calculations only on those Communities In Schools affiliates working in high schools, EMSI calculated the costs of CIS, including dollars directly invested and the opportunity costs of labor and capital. They then calculated the benefits of the increased high school graduation rates attributed to CIS and the subsequent higher earnings by these graduates, and social and taxpayer savings based on the students’ increased academic achievement.

Among the significant findings of the study are:

• The average annual rate of return to society is 18.4%
• The benefit/cost ratio is 11.6, which means that every dollar invested in CIS creates $11.60 of economic benefit for the community
• High school graduates will be net contributors to their communities for an average of 44 years of their working life, using their increased income to purchase homes and cars, and paying taxes that will support police officers, fire fighters and teachers.

“Our analysis demonstrates that CIS produces meaningful economic and social impacts,” said Tim Nadreau, research economist at EMSI. “The CIS model produces lifetime benefits for students who will earn more, businesses who will have access to a more skilled workforce, and taxpayers who will have both a greater contribution and reduced costs from these graduates.”

“Communities In Schools is proud to be a leader in the emerging field of rigorous return-on-investment studies,” said Dan Cardinali, president of Communities In Schools. “As we continue to build our own evidence base, we look forward to working with other leaders in the sector to refine and perfect ROI calculation so that they can be both a powerful management tool for nonprofits and a strategic investment guide for donors.”

A copy of the full economic impact study is available here.

I recently met Diane Formosa at a Communities In Schools fundraising breakfast in Lakewood, Washington. I was struck by her shock of blond curly hair and quick smile that belied the sheer force of her compassion. Thirty-seven years driving a school bus in Lakewood — many of those years with special needs kids — had taught her to see people as their raw, essential selves. And she senses their longing for someone to trust…

Read the rest of the blog at The Huffington Post.

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Meet the six Communities In Schools site coordinators from around the U.S. who were recognized for their outstanding contributions with the 2011 Communities in Schools Unsung Heroes award–including Communities In Schools of Seattle’s own Xaila Lewis from Rainier Beach High School!

When 64 percent of teachers report students and families needing increased health and social support services, and 35 percent reporting more students coming to school hungry, the importance of bringing in community services in a targeted, integrated way becomes even clearer. In 3,000 schools nationwide, Communities In Schools does exactly that, working with principals and teachers to identify needs, and then leverage community resources to meet those needs so that teachers can teach, and students can learn. MetLife has done a real service to the education reform debate by highlighting these issues, and by providing support to organizations like Communities In Schools to address these challenges.

Read the full report here.

My name is Victoire LeTourneau. I’m a junior at the Kent Phoenix Academy in the Performance Learning Center program, or the PLC.

I really like being in the PLC because we do a lot of our classes online and we can work at our own pace. I love that I’ve been able to do my classes faster and finish so many classes that I’ve even skipped a grade. This is only my second year of high school, but I’m already starting on my junior year classes!

I also like that I can get to know the teachers and staff members in the PLC on a personal level. The PLC really feels like a small family where everyone knows each other and where you are accepted no matter what. This is a big change from my other high school where I didn’t feel welcome or accepted at all.

One of the best things about the PLC is the Communities In Schools programs. My favorite program is the Mentoring Program and getting to meet with my mentor, Monica. We bonded together right away and she’s really easy to talk to because she’s into a lot of the same things as me –like learning, math, and even Sherlock Holmes!

I really like having a mentor because it gives me someone older to talk to who can help me with my problems. Before I started meeting with Monica, I was having a lot of problems with my friends. But Monica helped me make sense of everything and work out my problems so I could concentrate on my schoolwork again.

I recommend to other students that they have a mentor too, because a mentor is someone who can encourage you to get your work done and support you when you’re having a hard time in your life. Especially if you find the perfect mentor – like I did – your mentor is someone you can trust and who is supportive and protective of you no matter what!

In addition to the Mentoring Program, Communities In Schools has a lot of college and career programs too. Last year, I went on a field trip to the University of Washington and I totally fell in love with the school. I got to see the campus life, their huge library, and I found out they have all of the programs I want to go into, which are performing arts and computer science. So now I’m planning to apply to the University of Washington for college!

I also just got accepted into the new Employment Edge class, where I’ll get to learn about the workforce and do an internship at a local business. My internship will be my first work experience ever! I’m really excited to learn new job skills, like how to write a resume, and to increase my chances to get a good job later on.

I really love being at the PLC and in all of the Communities In Schools programs. I hope a lot of other students can have the same opportunities that I had to be successful.

Victoire LeTourneau poised for success.