News & Events

Communities In Schools Unveils New Logo

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CIS National President and Secretary of Education Speak at Board Dinner Dan Cardinali, CIS National President & Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at May 20th Communities In Schools Board Dinner.

Communities In Schools Recognized by President Obama as a Model Program

Yesterday, Communities In Schools National President Dan Cardinali represented Communities In Schools at a gathering of national education leaders with President Barack Obama at a White House event.

Said Cardinalli, "It was my great pleasure to represent you at a gathering of national education leaders with President Barack Obama at the White House this morning. While I was quite pleased to hear the President's commitment to reducing the dropout rate and to helping young people graduate from high school prepared for success—as evidenced by his plan to provide $3.5 billion to improve under-performing schools and $900 million in school Turnaround Grants—I was especially gratified to hear him recognize the work of Communities In Schools by name."

That recognition, with some of the lead-in from President Obama's speech to give it context, went as follows: "As my Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, says, our kids get only one chance at an education, and we need to get it right. Of course, getting it right requires more than just transforming our lowest performing schools. It requires giving students who are behind in school a chance to catch up and a path to a diploma. It requires focusing on students, from middle school through high school, who face factors at home, in the neighborhood, or in school that put them at risk of dropping out.
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(Photo L to R): CISFL Board Member Jill Gleeson, Chair Frank Messersmith, State Director Lois Gracey and Senior VP Bank of America Katie Scanlan.

Bank of America Grants $500,000 to Communities In Schools To Improve Florida's Graduation Rate

Two Year Partnership to Support Dropout Prevention Efforts in Florida

Communities In Schools (CIS), Florida's leading stay-in-school organization, is proud to announce the award of $500,000 in grants from Bank of America to support its work to reduce the state's dropout rate. "The high school dropout rate has become a national epidemic - as many as one out of three students nationally are not graduating each year. In Florida, without support, as many as 1 million currently-enrolled students are in jeopardy of not graduating with their peers. With the monumental task facing educators today, schools simply cannot meet all the needs of the students alone. The public, private, and nonprofit sectors must increase our collaborative efforts to ensure that Florida's graduation rate improves. Corporations like Bank of America, who have an eye on the future, are making a real difference as we work together to meet the needs of our most vulnerable population - our children," said CIS State Director Lois Gracey.
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Governor Crist Proclaims November Communities In Schools Awareness Month as CIS Celebrates 25th Anniversary

Governor Charlie Crist has issued a Proclamation Declaring November as Communities In Schools Awareness Month. "Whereas reducing the trend of school dropouts requires increased awareness... and Whereas Communities In Schools is committed to providing every child with a caring adult, a safe place to learn and grow, a healthy start and a healthy future, a marketable skill to use upon graduation, and an opportunity to contribute to their peers and community..."
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First Lady Michelle Obama paid a special visit to students from CIS partner school Ferebee Hope Elementary. Photo courtesy of Jason Miccolo Johnson, 2009.

First Lady Michelle Obama Visits Communities In Schools Yesterday First Lady Michelle Obama visited a Communities In Schools after-school reading program in Washington, D.C. The visit was a delightful surprise for 30 wide-eyed third-graders who read stories and asked questions of the first lady who told them they can help the president by working hard and never quitting. "When something gets hard, because it will be - there will be plenty of things that will be hard for you all; there are things that are hard for me," said the first lady, "Will you promise me that you will not quit?" Alison Hertz, the CIS on-site coordinator for the school, gave Mrs. Obama a tour of the program and discussed how early intervention can have a profound impact on a child's willingness to engage, and can set an attitude that carries well into middle and high school. Before visiting the students, the first lady met with the national Communities In Schools Board of Directors who discussed the need for more coordination and integration of support services into our schools - that schools alone are not equipped to teach students who are not prepared to learn. View Full Story »

	Good Neighbors at State Farm Award $250,000 Grant to Communities In Schools of Florida Three-Year Partnership to Replicate Communities In Schools in Underserved Communities
Photo (L to R): CIS Board Members Cindi Marsiglio (Wal-Mart), Dominic Calabro (Florida TaxWatch), Chair Frank Messersmith (FSM Associates), John Burns (State Farm), and Lois Gracey (CISFL).

Tallahassee, FL - Communities In Schools (CIS), Florida's leading stay-in-school organization, is proud to announce the award of a $250,000 grant from State Farm to support its work to reduce the state's dropout rate. "The high school dropout rate has become a national epidemic - as many as one out of three students nationally are not graduating each year. In Florida, without support, as many as 1 million currently-enrolled students are in jeopardy of not graduating with their peers. With the monumental task facing educators today, schools simply cannot meet all the needs of the students alone. The public, private, and nonprofit sectors must increase our collaborative efforts to ensure that Florida's graduation rate improves. Corporations like State Farm, who have an eye on the future, are making a real difference as we work together to meet the needs of our most vulnerable population - our children," said CIS State Director Lois Gracey.
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Winn-Dixie Foundation Supports Dropout Prevention With $15,000 Contribution to CIS of Florida View Full Story »

New Study Shows That with Academic Outcomes and Dropout Prevention, It's Not Just What You Do, It's How You Do It

Communities In Schools Releases Results of Seven-State Study That Shows Improvement in Math, Reading and Graduation Rates is Linked to Integrated Service Provision. Learn more:
New Study Shows That with Academic Outcomes... (PDF document, 35 KB)

CIS Florida Announces Florida's Largest VISTA Project VISTA GRANT INCREASED for 2008-09 to 43 Members Value Statewide: $1,080,200. View Full Story »

The Last Dropout: Stop the Epidemic! With the perfect balance of humor, introspection, and practical insight, CIS Founder and Vice Chairman Bill Milliken grapples with one of the greatest social epidemics of our time: the American dropout crisis. Learn More and Purchase "The Last Dropout" »