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- Communities In Schools of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Inc.
Communities In Schools of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Inc.
The mission of Communities In Schools (CIS) is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. We are guided by the larger goals of increasing the number of high school graduates better prepared for adulthood, helping to stabilize and position students to learn as well as assisting students and their families with defining and accessing viable paths for post-secondary education and careers all while fostering other opportunities for achievement and self-sufficiency. CIS believes in our students, in their abilities and their amazing potential. We ultimately envision a community where every child and family can thrive and is positioned for positive economic mobility.
Purpose
Communities In Schools (CIS) is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to empowering students to stay in school and on a path to a brighter future. Working directly inside schools, CIS connects students to caring adults and community resources to help them succeed inside and outside the classroom and reach their greatest potential.
Vision
We envision a community where every child and family thrives and is positioned for upward economic mobility.
Mission
Our mission is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.
The heart of our mission is to wrap intervention services around students and bring community resources into schools to empower success for all students, both inside and outside the classroom.
We are guided by the larger goals of increasing the number of high school graduates better prepared for adulthood, helping to stabilize and position students to learn as well as assisting students and their families with defining and accessing viable paths for post-secondary education and careers all while fostering other opportunities for achievement and self-sufficiency. CIS believes in our students, in their abilities and their amazing potential. We ultimately envision a community where every child and family can thrive and is positioned for positive economic mobility.
The heart of our mission is to wrap intervention services around students and bring community resources into schools to empower success for all students, both inside and outside the classroom.
We are guided by the larger goals of increasing the number of high school graduates better prepared for adulthood, helping to stabilize and position students to learn as well as assisting students and their families with defining and accessing viable paths for post-secondary education and careers all while fostering other opportunities for achievement and self-sufficiency. CIS believes in our students, in their abilities and their amazing potential. We ultimately envision a community where every child and family can thrive and is positioned for positive economic mobility.
Additional Culture Details
Grounding our work with students is our commitment to Diversity Equity Inclusion and Access (DEIA). CIS intentionally incorporates a lens around diversity, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA) when building racially and culturally diverse representation within our Board of Directors. Our Governance Committee utilizes a full board profile, diversity breakdown, and gaps analysis to inform recruitment efforts. We are working with the City of Charlotte International/Integration Manager and our Newcomer Services Committee to identify additional Board Members representing our African-American and Latinx communities to increase the percentage of Board representation.
We have invited our Board to participate in various trainings/work groups related to DEIA work including Dismantling Racism training, implicit bias workshop, vision design workgroups, and advocacy. One of our board members serves on the CIS National Network Collaborative guiding DEIA across all CIS affiliates. CIS strongly believes that a culturally and racially diverse Board of Directors is key to our success as an agency that empowers and equips our students to realize their limitless potential.
We have invited our Board to participate in various trainings/work groups related to DEIA work including Dismantling Racism training, implicit bias workshop, vision design workgroups, and advocacy. One of our board members serves on the CIS National Network Collaborative guiding DEIA across all CIS affiliates. CIS strongly believes that a culturally and racially diverse Board of Directors is key to our success as an agency that empowers and equips our students to realize their limitless potential.
Values
- Comprehensive Service Delivery Model
- CIS began in 1985 at a single school serving 80 students and now impacts over 6,000 young people annually at 55 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' (CMS) sites with large populations of high-need students. We also assist an additional 30,000 students at these same schools through school-wide programming, resources, and community referrals. Our Comprehensive Service Delivery Model has expanded over the years from our school-based PreK-12 programming (now Differentiated Services) to also include Specialized Interventions that target and address specific, chronically growing community issues such as college access/career readiness for low-income, first-generation students; support for teen parents balancing the challenges of childcare and high school graduation; working with youth that have been involved with the criminal justice system to continue their education and reduce recidivism; and serving immigrant/refugee/ELL students.