2024 Annual Report

Letter from the President and CEO

Communities In Schools® (CIS®) was founded on a commitment to student success. We’ve always believed that all students have the potential to succeed. And we’ve always understood that not all students have the same access to the resources and opportunities they need to reach that potential. Some, especially Black, Brown, Indigenous students  and students living in poverty, face more challenging obstacles with fewer resources than  others. Too often, public schools don’t have the systems or staff to connect these students and their families to the resources they need inside and outside the classroom. 

That’s where the CIS commitment comes in. It’s where integrated student supports (ISS), our proven, evidence-based model, helps students succeed. We partner with schools to  connect students and families to our powerful network of resources and supports. When CIS site coordinators work inside schools, students get what they need when they need it, teachers can focus on teaching, and administrators can focus on operating the school. 

Our new public service campaign says it best: Being Present Matters. When CIS is present, 99 percent of our students show up prepared and ready to learn. In the last school year alone, 97 percent of our K-11 students were promoted to the next grade and 96 percent of our seniors graduated or earned their GED. 

Our results show that when students get what they need when they need it, they thrive. And when that happens, we all benefit.

-Rey Saldaña, President & CEO, CIS National

Our data clearly shows that partnering with CIS helps students succeed. When CIS places a trained and caring adult inside schools, students get the chance to see and believe in their own potential, beyond obstacles that may stand in their way. Often, we don’t realize our potential until someone tells us we have it. As a CIS alumnus, I can attest to the power of this message, and as CEO, I witness the impact across hundreds of thousands of students CIS works with every year.

Without the CIS partnership, that opportunity wouldn’t exist. At a time of enormous pressure, CIS remains committed to student success. We’re working to expand the number of schools offering integrated student supports, with a goal of ensuring every Title I school and the students that attend them have access to resources that help students thrive. We’re developing innovative ways to drive that growth, including launching new funding sources, creating more local partnerships, and building our network’s skills and capacity.

We believe in the potential of all students, and we look forward to working with schools, families, and communities at large to help them achieve it.

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