Our Model
Communities In Schools of Los Angeles is one of more than 150 programs across the country that is changing kids lives.
We are the nation’s largest and most effective dropout prevention organization that is proven to both decrease dropout rates and increase graduation rate.
Our evidenced-based model integrates three tiers of engagement, delivering comprehensive support, services, and resources to address the needs of the whole student.
Who's involved
CIS Affiliates
Hire and train site coordinators, bring the CIS model to schools in need and mobilize partners to provide resources.
Site Coordinators
The site coordinator fills a pivotal role as the single point of contact working inside the school coordinating and providing integrated student supports. They work with school leadership and staff to connect students and families with community resources that help to address both academic and nonacademic needs, allowing students to show up healthy, safe, and prepared to learn.
Community Partners
Site coordinators collaborate with community partners and businesses to recruit volunteers for tutoring programs, build up clothing closets with support from local businesses or connect struggling families with much-needed medical attention – just to name a few.
How it works
1. Needs Assessment
What sets us apart is our holistic approach to addressing both the academic and nonacademic needs of students. Working with school leadership and staff, site coordinators — who are based inside schools — prioritize the needs of the school, determine which supports need to be increased or improved and identify supports that the schools need but don’t currently have. In addition to the school needs assessment, site coordinators also identify students at risk of dropping out, assess what they need and then find the right supports to ensure they stay on track to graduate.
2. Planning
Once the needs assessment is complete, the site coordinator meets with their school support team to put together a plan to address these needs–through school-wide, targeted group and individualized supports. They then collaborate with local providers to put these plans into action. They attach measurable goals to the plans and track progress against defined metrics to ensure they provide the best possible supports, producing positive results for schools and students.
3. Integrated Student Supports
The CIS site coordinator works with volunteers, partners and the local community to provide students with the supports they need to succeed both inside and outside the classroom. We provide these supports in three different tiers. By differentiating our supports, we are able to serve most students in a school and also focus attention on targeted students that have significant needs.
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Tier 1: School-wide services
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Tier 2: Targeted student programs
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Tier 3: Individualized student support​​ ​
4. Monitoring and Adjusting
Once the site coordinator and their school support team have identified needs and put a plan in place to address those needs, they continue to meet with students, families, teachers and providers to make sure the supports are working. By setting goals with individual students and the school as a whole, they are able to monitor progress and adjust support accordingly. If they find out the plan isn’t working as well as it could, they bring the right people back to the drawing board to adjust and create a plan that does.
5. Evaluation
Just as we monitor and adjust the supports we are providing on the ground, we also conduct evaluations of the entire model – both at the school-wide and individual student level. Additionally, the CIS National Office engages in 3rd party evaluations of the network to ensure fidelity to the CIS model and positive impacts for schools and students. These evaluations, some of the most rigorous conducted in the field of Integrated Student Supports, show that Communities In Schools is proven to increase graduation rates, decrease dropout rates and improve student attendance, leading to brighter futures for students in America.
6. Proven Success
CISLA has maintained a 99% + graduation rate for 5 consecutive years. Our work results in improved attendance, Social Emotional Learning, and academic achievement outcomes for students across Title 1 schools in Los Angeles.