Communities In Schools, the largest national organization dedicated to empowering at-risk students to stay in school and on a path to a brighter future, welcomed Carmen Ortiz-McGhee to its National Board of Directors today.  Ms. Ortiz-McGhee is Executive Vice President of the National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC).

A new Gallup survey, commissioned by Communities In Schools, reveals that more than half of adults surveyed said teachers are not being prepared to effectively handle discipline issues in the classroom. Almost 30 percent of respondents said they were concerned that unsafe school or classroom environments would result from poorly handled discipline issues and 20 percent cited the disruption of learning as their top concern.

Communities In Schools of Central Texas site coordinator Jordan Chaplik works in Zavala Elementary School in Austin, Texas, where she leads the Zavala 4th Grade Girls Empowerment Group. Jordan reflected on the need for and impact of groups like hers and asked her young ladies to talk about what they’re made of and what they think are the greatest challenges young women face today in celebration of International Women’s Day 2019.