From Place to Promise: How United Way Quad Cities and Communities In Schools Are Changing the Odds—Together
In the Quad Cities along the Illinois and Iowa border, a child’s future is shaped early by access to housing, health care, literacy, and consistent support—resources many families still struggle to secure.
After the pandemic, schools were asked to drive academic recovery while also absorbing rising health, social, and emotional needs.
“Support poured into schools during the pandemic, but without coordination it became one more thing for educators to manage,” said Rene Gellerman, president and CEO of United Way Quad Cities.
The problem was not commitment. It was coordination.
United Way Quad Cities responded not with another program, but with a way to align funding, partnerships, and services around students inside schools.
That approach aligned naturally with Communities In Schools® (CIS®).
Where Place-Based Strategy Meets Proven Structure
United Way Quad Cities had already built its regional strategy around education, financial security, and health, with measurable goals tied to reading proficiency and access to routine care.
What it lacked was a disciplined, evidence-based way to turn that strategy into daily action inside schools.
CIS stood out because it paired strong local relationships with a model that had already shown results elsewhere.
“The data mattered. We needed a model that could prove impact,” said Rene.
CIS contributed a proven structure: site coordinators embedded in schools to organize support around attendance, behavior, and coursework.
United Way contributed community trust, convening power, and flexible capital.
“This was never about adding another program. It was about making existing assets work better, faster, and together,” Rene added.
United for Schools: Turning Strategy Into Action
United for Schools puts CIS site coordinators inside schools and backs them with United Way Quad Cities’ network of partners, donors, volunteers, and services.
“United for Schools helps us move all three pillars—income, health, and education—at once,” Rene explained.
Today, the initiative serves six schools in four districts and reaches nearly 1,850 students, all while staying anchored to long-term community goals.
- By 2030, 80% of third graders reading on grade level
- 60% of adults earning a living wage
- 95% of residents with access to routine healthcare
When housing, nutrition, health care, and learning supports work together, students are more likely to stay on track and graduate.
“It gives us a path not only to students, but to families in some of our most marginalized neighborhoods,” Rene said.
Why Housing the CIS Model at United Way Works
Housing CIS site coordinators within United Way Quad Cities gives the model flexibility schools often lack.
“Under United Way, site coordinators can respond to urgent family needs faster and with more flexibility,” Rene added.
Whether a family needs dental care, food, mentoring, or school-wide support, United Way’s network can respond quickly without adding to educators’ load.
“If a site coordinator needs something,” Rene explained, “we can unlock it fast.”
The result is less friction for schools.
What Impact Looks Like
“At one school, families needed dental care. We called a partner, and they delivered it. A student cannot learn while in pain,” Rene added.
When one person can focus on students with the greatest needs, teachers can teach and principals can lead.
-Rene Gellerman, President and CEO, United Way Quad Cities
A Strategic Bet on Impact and Sustainability
Becoming the employer of site coordinators was a deliberate move to build a stronger, more durable model.
“It is a higher-risk model because you are investing in people, but that is how you build relevance and sustainability. Donors respond when they can see it working,” said Rene.
United for Schools grew from two sites to six, then paused to protect quality.
“We are layering the CIS model with United Way assets and getting it right before we grow faster,” Rene added.
For United Way, scale matters only when it builds visible, measurable trust.
A Replicable Path Forward
“Communities do not need to copy this exactly. The model can be adapted because it builds on assets many places already have,” explained Rene.
The United for Schools initiative shows how place-based organizations can pair local trust with a disciplined, evidence-based school model to improve outcomes.
“We want other communities—especially smaller or rural United Ways—to see themselves in this work,” said Regan Baker, student success director at United Way Quad Cities.
A Shared Promise
United Way Quad Cities and CIS are now focused on long-term sustainability, philanthropic blending, school, and public funding so the work stays embedded in the community.
“We want this to become part of the community, not a short-term effort,” Rene explained.
When support is coordinated every day, students and families do not just get help, they get a better shot at the future.
United for Schools gives us access not just to students, but to families in some of our most marginalized neighborhoods. That’s how impact moves beyond the school walls.
-Rene Gellerman, President and CEO, United Way Quad Cities
Learn more about United Way Quad Cities. Learn more about becoming a CIS licensed partner or explore how CIS can support place-based community strategies in your community in this brief.
