March 16, 2011 

Arlington, Va. - Communities In Schools, the leading organization dedicated to empowering students to stay in school and achieve in life, today announced the appointment of Gary Chapman as Executive Vice President, National Network.  Chapman will oversee all aspects of national network strategy, ensuring that the national network team effectively supports 14 state offices and nearly 200 affiliates to achieve national impact.  Chapman will lead a national office team of 20 staff members across two departments – Field Operations and Research. 

“Gary has been a leader at all levels of Communities In Schools, first as Executive Director of a local affiliate, then driving system-wide strategies for school reform, and most recently as Vice President of Field Operations. ” said Dan Cardinali, President of Communities In Schools.  “Gary’s passion, experience and unique leadership abilities equip him to lead Communities In Schools to our next level of service to young people.”

Chapman, a Georgia native, joined the national office of Communities In Schools in 2007 and served most recently as Vice President of Field Operations.  Previously, he led an initiative to expand Performance Learning Centers, a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation education reform initiative, across the Communities In Schools network.  Chapman came into the organization as Executive Director of Communities In Schools of Berrien County (Georgia), where he served for eight years.  Chapman has also served as principal of a charter high school, and holds a Master’s degree in social work and a Specialist in Educational Leadership.

“I still remember Mitchell, the first young man I worked with.  I remember the shack he lived in with its dirt floor, and the depressing detention room where he spent his days at school,” said Chapman.  “There were thousands of kids like Mitchell who were victims of poverty and low expectations that needed to have caring people in their lives connecting them to wraparound supports if they were going to succeed.  I knew then, that coordinating community resources to help young people see a brighter future would be my life’s work.” 

Communities In Schools surrounds students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.  Through a school-based coordinator, Communities In Schools connects students and their families to critical community resources, tailored to local needs.  Working in more than 3,400 schools, in the most challenged communities, in 25 states and the District of Columbia, Communities In Schools serves nearly 1.3 million young people and their families every year.  It has become the nation's leading dropout prevention organization, and the only one proven to both increase graduation rates and decrease dropout rates.