The State of Our Network: Ready for This Moment
Thirteen million* empty seats. Not statistics. Children.
Our children, vanishing in plain sight. Nearly 30% of America's students remain chronically absent – missing a month or more of school – almost four years after the pandemic. That’s over one million school days lost. Every. Single. Day.
I once walked these halls—South San HS—just another kid with the odds stacked against me. The system thought it had already written my ending. Then Miss Reyes found me. My Communities In Schools coordinator looked me in the eyes and said six words that changed everything: "That's not good enough for you."
Six words that rewrote the destiny of a kid who was never supposed to be standing here. I'm not a miracle. I'm not an exception. I'm what can happen when Communities In Schools is present.
Forty-eight years ago, in Atlanta, Georgia, Bill Milliken cofounded Communities In Schools on the radical belief that relationships—not programs—change children's lives.
Public education stands at the precipice. Faith in our educational institutions isn’t just wavering—it's in free fall. Families across America are questioning whether schools even matter anymore. And our youth aren't just disappointed—they're abandoning hope with each empty desk, each unfilled teaching position, and each shuttered school leading to another shattered American dream.
Today, as I deliver my state of the network address, I can tell you without hesitation: Communities In Schools is ready for this moment.
Our impact isn't just growing—it's transformational in scale. The Communities In Schools network now spans 29 states and the District of Columbia, uniting more than 100 organizations under a single, proven model.
During the 2023-2024 school year alone, we transformed the educational experience for 2 million students across 3,571 schools. Let that sink in: If CIS were a school district, we'd be the largest in the nation—larger than New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago combined.
Our edge isn't size—it's three unmatched strengths: a battle-tested model that delivers results where others fail; people who refuse to let any child vanish; and 48 years of hard-earned trust in skeptical communities. We don't chase metrics—we unlock potential.
The evidence illuminates our path forward: Where CIS works, graduation rates climb and school dropout plummets. We've bridged the seemingly unbridgeable—earning champions from Washington State's progressive state department to Texas's conservative legislature. During April's Hill Days, we witnessed a miracle: in a divided Washington, both Republicans and Democrats rallied around our mission.
America's children aren't waiting, and neither can we. Together, we're not just saving public education—we're reinventing it as the beacon of hope it was always meant to be!
THE GROUND IS SHIFTING: EDUCATION'S INFLECTION POINT
The ground beneath American education is shifting. Federal education capacity slashed by half. Data collection systems defunded. Civil rights protections reinterpreted. The U.S. Department of Education slated for termination.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress has found a direct link between chronic absenteeism and declining test scores in both math and reading. Meanwhile, 83% of school leaders report that pandemic effects continue to negatively impact students' development.
Some say our education system is broken beyond repair. Others say we simply need to restore what once was. I say this moment doesn't call for retreat—it calls for a breakthrough.
In an age where we're digitally connected but physically isolated—where algorithms know our children better than some teachers do—showing up, in person, is the ultimate patriotic statement.
READY FOR TRANSFORMATION: A CALL TO ACTION
As we approach our Golden Anniversary, I'm challenging our entire network to prepare for a reckoning instead of a celebration—a pivotal moment when America will turn to us for solutions to its most pressing challenges inside schools.
We must double down on Being Present Matters—and I mean presence everywhere decisions about children are made.
New research confirms that CIS could reduce the achievement gap by 20% primarily through attendance improvement. This validates what we've always known: presence precedes everything else.
I'm calling on every leader to be physically present not just in classrooms, but wherever educational decisions happen. School board meetings. Chamber of Commerce gatherings. State houses. The chronic absenteeism crisis isn't just about students missing school—it's about advocates missing from tables of power.
When history records how America responded to its greatest educational challenge, let it show that Communities In Schools didn't just weather the storm—we harnessed it to create the future.
Our presence is our power. And when we show up for students, they show us what’s possible. Let’s seize this moment and deliver America's education breakthrough—together.
The next 52 years of our movement begins today.
*Source: U.S. Department of Education: The 2022-23 chronic absenteeism rate was 28% or 13.9M students (out of 49.6M students total).
