Mission/Overview
Our mission is to connect community resources with schools to help young people learn successfully, stay in school, and prepare for life. We believe that every student deserves every opportunity to remain in school and gain the tools they need not just to survive, but to thrive.
Communities In Schools facilitates partnerships with businesses and health services, cultural and civic groups, youth development agencies, and dedicated individuals who are committed to helping students stay in school. Through these powerful partnerships, we target the specific causes of children quitting school. So that teachers are free to teach and stimulate the intellectual development of their students.
CISLAW was established in 2007, implementing the highly successful national CIS model in Alexander Hamilton and Venice High Schools in West Los Angeles. We work with over 500 students who didn?t promote from 9th to 10th grade and are at least one semester behind. CISLAW?s graduation coach meets with each student and maps out a path to graduating on time. We coordinate with school staff and continue to monitor each student on an ongoing basis until that student graduates.
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LA City Council Resolution commending CISLAW with Josephine Ruffin, Dana Henry, Angelica Trujillo, Bud Jacobs, Councilman Bill Rosendahl and Donna Weiss |
This year, we have introduced a new program, Diplomas Now, at Hollenbeck and John Liechty middle schools. Diplomas Now is an innovative school turnaround model that unites the work that we do with two other experienced nonprofit organizations, City Year and John Hopkins University?s Talent Development, to deliver the right interventions to the right students at the right time. Diplomas Now pairs evidence-based, comprehensive school reform with national service teams to provide tutoring, mentoring, monitoring and engagement activities at the required scale, and integrated student supports for the highest need students. Communities in Schools Los Angeles West will be working with the highest need students in this program. |