Communities In Schools of Washington News

January is National Mentor Month. In a show of support, Communities In Schools of Kent, along with other local CIS affiliates, have teamed up with the Seattle Thunderbirds hockey team to offer discounted tickets for their game on January 30. The Thunderbirds will be taking on the Everett Silvertips at 5:00 PM, at the ShoWare Center in Kent.

Thunderbirds players Travis Toomey, Michael Salmon, and Luke Lockart serve as mentors with Communities In Schools of Kent in the Kent School District. As mentors, each of these young men is paired up with a student to meet regularly throughout the school year. Communities In Schools mentors work with students to instill the confidence to succeed, to encourage the belief that education creates opportunity, and to set an expectation for success.

To buy tickets for the game, place your order online at http://tickets.seattlethunderbirds.com/. Click the “buy tickets” button for the January 30 game. Choose your seat, click apply discount, type in “mentor,” and change your ticket price from $22 to $18. Finalize the checkout process, and enjoy a great game in support of National Mentor Month!

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. Communities In Schools of Seattle (CISS) has achieved National Accreditation by demonstrating compliance with all Communities In Schools Total Quality System (TQS) standards.

“We are proud to have achieved our accreditation with Communities In Schools because we know this high set of standards will help us provide better services to our students,” said Shira Rosen, Executive Director. Communities In Schools of Seattle is among the earliest to receive its national accreditation out of nearly 200 affiliates that comprise the Communities In Schools network in 25 states and the District of Columbia. The TQS standards define expectations for effective non-profit business practices and for implementing the Communities In Schools model of integrated student support services at school sites.

Communities In Schools of Seattle works within schools to provide intensive one-on-one support to students and families facing crisis situations. CISS delivers effective programs that: improve student achievement through both school-wide services and sustained, individualized interventions for the 10% of students most at-risk of dropping out; enrich the school experience through academic enrichment programs and experiences that supplement classroom learning; and meet basic needs through supportive services that alleviate the strains of poverty and other challenges that impact students. CISS currently provides services at Rainier Beach High School, Aki Kurose Middle School, Denny International Middle School and Graham Hill Elementary School.

Excerpted from Communities in Schools of Peninsula Press Release

VAUGHN, WASHINGTON – Communities In Schools of Peninsula (CISP) has achieved National Accreditation by demonstrating compliance with all Communities In Schools Total Quality System (TQS) standards.

“We are proud to have achieved our accreditation as it underlies the value of falling in compliance with the high set of standards put in place by Communities In Schools ,” said Colleen Speer, CISP Executive Director. Communities In Schools of Peninsula is among the first to receive its national accreditation among the nearly 200 local affiliates that comprise the Communities In Schools network in 25 states and the District of Columbia.

The TQS standards define expectations for effective non-profit business practices and for implementing the Communities In Schools model of integrated student support services at school sites. The site standards are based on a five-year, longitudinal national evaluation conducted by an independent, outside evaluator that documented the impact of the Communities In Schools model. The evaluation revealed that schools implementing the Communities In Schools model with high fidelity had higher graduation rates, lower dropout rates, and performed better than comparison schools in increasing the percentage of students meeting or exceeding math and reading proficiency in 4th and 8th grades, a crucial predictor of high school graduation.

Communities In Schools developed the Total Quality System to establish clear operational guidelines that ensure uniform quality and improved outcomes for all students being served by Communities In Schools affiliates. The TQS system is part of an organization wide commitment to evidence-based practice and the highest standards of accountability.

“What am I nervous about…? What I’m nervous about is not doing enough” Thi-Le, a new site coordinator with Communities In Schools of Seattle, seemed to express the feel of the room. In an age where education and the dropout rate has entered the national spotlight, people are looking for the “superman” to save students in need and at risk. And we were in a room full of them.

Site coordinators are Communities In Schools’ answer to the country’s call for education superheros, providing one-to-one support to the kids who need it, when they need it most. And on this day over 30 site coordinators from throughout the Washington network gathered for a day of training. For some it was their first day in the job, and they were here to learn techniques and hear stories. For those already in their job, this was a chance to share years of experience with the new recruits as they embark on a job riddled with both challenges and personal tests.

Over the course of the day it became apparent that motivation would not be an issue for the new superheros. Many are excited for the chance to help out a community in which they grew up, and they saw this job as an opportunity to jump in and start making an impact. They look forward to the relationships they’ll be forming with those students in need of a “superman” to help guide them to the graduation stage. Will they do enough? They’re sure going to try.

Check out the video below to hear from some of the new site coordinators themselves as they talk about entering their new jobs:

Site Coordinators work as the connection point between the communities around them and the schools in which they are working, bringing a vast array of resources into the schools so that struggling students get the help they need, when they need it.

By combining individualized support with relationship-based support, our squad of site coordinators remove barriers to success and reach kids in ways that no other program does. Over time meaningful relationships are formed between the kids they help, boosting confidence and setting the expectation for success. And their goal? For all kids to come to school ready and able to learn.

Meet Carol Ray. She is a retired principle, though she “didn’t stay retired for very long”. I was lucky enough to sit down with her and hear a little bit about what she does from her point of view.

For more kids in Lakewood, the end of the school day won’t necessarily mean an end to the day’s knowledge pursuits. Thanks to a new grant, doors will open to students looking to get a little more out of their school day.

Communities In Schools of Lakewood (CISL) recently received a five-year 21st Century grant totaling more than $300,000 from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). CISL will use these funds to expand after-school, mentor, and family support programs at Tillicum Elementary School. Through the ‘Tillicum Community Learning Center’, or TCLC, students will be provided with math and reading support, field trips, an array of enrichment activities, structured recreation, and much more. But the youth aren’t the only beneficiaries; parents will also receive Love & Logic Parenting classes, English as a Second Language (ESL), and Civics courses–all provided by Pierce College.

The funding comes to Communities In Schools of Lakewood through OSPI’s 21st Century Community Learning Center program, an initiative that funded 11 grantees total in Washington. The initiative is projected to support 20 sites and provide out-of-school time programing to over 1,300 students and stands as the only federal funding source dedicated exclusively to afterschool programs.

“I am so excited the OSPI has selected Communities In Schools of Lakewood to coordinate the Center,” said Dave O’Keeffe, CISL Executive Director. Tillicum Principal, Taj Jensen, stated that he is “confident that great things will happen for kids and parents in the TCLC.”

We organized the drives. You came out, bringing supplies and donating your free time. And students across the state of Washington triumph.

Throughout the past summer, Communities In Schools hosted supply drives across our state. We filled canoes, stuffed buses, and gathered supplies so that kids could get the tools they needed to learn.

In anticipation for the upcoming school year families will have had to spend $60-100 per child to pay for necessary supplies. Within the Seattle School district, 40% of the area’s 45,000+ students live in poverty, and their families are often unable to rise up to the financial challenge presented by the high costs of needed learning tools.

Teachers will often try to cover costs of school supplies within their classrooms by opening their own wallets. Studies have found that in a nation-wide survey for the 2005-06 school year, teachers have spent of average of over $1,000.

But thanks to the passion and efforts of Washington businesses and individuals, teachers can rest assured that their students will be that much more ready to take in some knowledge. Over 75 community partners, big and small, showed their support through donations or by hosting drives. 150+ volunteers donated their free time so that the drives would run smoothly and effectively. And in the end, more than 10,000 more kids walked into their first class armed with the necessary supplies to begin the new school year.

A sincere thank you to all those who helped out this summer!