Hello, and welcome to the launch of Beyond the Classroom, the official blog of the Communities In Schools national office! We’re taking the plunge into blogging to keep you up-to-date with the latest and greatest from one of the nation’s leading dropout prevention organizations.
Since 1977, Communities In Schools has operated within public school systems across the country. Our mission is simple: we surround students with a community of support, enabling them to stay in school and achieve in life.
While we work within schools, dropout risk factors – and their solutions – often exist outside the school doors…hence our blog’s name. How can a child focus in class if they don’t have enough to eat, don’t have warm clothes, or don’t have a positive role model? Communities In Schools helps students get through the problems they’re facing beyond the classroom, so that they can focus on school and succeed in life.
Our site coordinators determine student needs and establish relationships with local businesses, social service agencies, health care providers, and parent and volunteer organizations to provide essential resources. We are a network of nearly 5,000 passionate professionals and 57,000 volunteers who are transforming the lives of 1.3 million young people at greatest risk for dropping out. Our model of addressing both academic and human service needs is affordable, adaptable and accessible. And independent research shows that it works.
Check out Beyond the Classroom for amazing stories about Communities In Schools’ students, programs, volunteers and mentors across the country. In addition, we’ll be featuring point-of-view blog posts on important education issues, and information about ways you can help us make a difference in the lives of children. We’ll also be premiering some excellent multimedia, including inspiring interviews with Communities In Schools’ alumni and video posts from President Dan Cardinali.
If you have any questions about Beyond the Classroom or want to learn about how you can contribute to Communities In Schools, please contact Online Communications Specialist Briana Kerensky at kerenskyb@cisnet.org.
Enjoy!
Every Thanksgiving, I have a horrible habit of eating myself into a “food coma.” I don’t just put some turkey, stuffing and sweet potatoes on my plate. I pile that plate a mile high with everything on the buffet table. And after I eat all that food, I sit on the sofa, flip on A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and proceed not to move for the next few hours while I digest all that tryptophan.
