Letter from Phil Kirk
Communities
in Schools Meets Local Needs
 I
have often described the Communities in Schools program as a very
effective dropout prevention program. It is also the nation’s
largest stay-in-school network, serving more than one million youth in
154 cities and counties across our nation.
North Carolina’s program
is recognized as the signature state program by the national office.
Originally called Cities in Schools, there are 29 local operational
programs in our state with two additional ones online. More than
46,000 students and family members are being served.
CIS programs are very
flexible in order to meet local needs. There is a strong statewide
office and board, which offer training and technical assistance to
local boards and staff and they also set up mechanisms to replicate
the programs in as many localities as possible.
The state office also makes
sure its voice and advocacy for helping at-risk children are heard on
various statewide projects, committees and task forces. CIS is
effective in bringing people of all interests to the table in order to
best meet the needs of students today. Federal grants and corporate
partnerships are often secured by aggressive marketing and lobbying.
CIS staff and volunteers also work closely with other children-serving
groups.
CIS is described in a recent
report as “a process that brings better community cooperation to the
forefront by championing the connection of needed community resources
with schools to help young people successfully learn, stay in school
and prepare for life.” I couldn’t have said it better myself!
Why is a program and process
like this needed? We have too many students who are failing and too
many — far too many — leave school without the skills needed to
succeed in life. More than 25,000 youngsters drop out of school each
year in North Carolina. Eighty-five percent of juveniles in court
today are school dropouts and 82 percent of prisoners are dropouts.
Most also have drug or alcohol problems.
The 27 CIS programs in North
Carolina are in areas that account for almost half of our state’s
population and include Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro. Programs
serve students at every grade level.
In 1999-2000, CIS programs
were the recipients of 5,700 volunteers who contributed more than
277,000 volunteer hours. More than 920 outside agencies and
organizations were brought in to provide needed services for children.
During the same year, CIS programs received more than $2.9 million in
government grants, $3.3 million in contributions from businesses and
foundations, and more than $1 million in contributions from
individuals, special events and other sources.
Some of the services offered
by CIS programs include mentoring, community service, prevention
programs, tutoring, after school programs, health care,
arts/sports/enrichment, college/career planning, parent/family
services, mental health, job shadowing and internships. CIS programs
were involved in many varied and impressive ways in assisting victims
of Hurricane Floyd.
Evaluation of programs
reveals often spectacular results in student achievement and improved
stay-in-school rates. This is important as our public schools continue
to raise standards and end social promotion. Many students need the
one-on-one assistance and nurturing that CIS volunteers provide.
The reasons for the success
and national prominence of North Carolina’s program are many, but
the enthusiastic, dynamic, visionary leadership of Linda Harrill is
one of the chief factors. She is a national leader of CIS and
America’s Promise, which was led by Gen. Colin Powell. She has been
working from the Governor’s office and some of her duties at the
N.C. CIS office have been ably carried out by Mike Stephens. Graeme
Keith, a Charlotte business leader, serves as the very effective and
committed chair of the state board, which is composed of many of the
state’s top corporate and education leaders.
Thanks to CIS, the future
for many of our young people is more promising today than it would
have been without this terrific organization.
Return to magazine
index
|
|
