Our Solution
-
CIS Affiliates
Hires and trains site coordinators, brings the CIS model to schools in need and mobilizes partners to provide resources. Read more. -
Site Coordinators
A trained professional who works with school administrators to assess needs, develop a plan and build a team to provide supports to schools and students. Read more. -
Collaborative Partners
Schools, businesses and community agencies all work together with site coordinator to deliver supports to students and families. Read more. -
Needs Assessment
Analyze multiple sources of data to identify the key needs of the school and individual students. Read more. -
Planning
Site coordinators lead their school support team to develop a plan to prioritize supports that address academic and non-academic needs. Read more. -
Integrated Student Supports
Site coordinator and partners deliver tiers of support to the school, students and their families. Read more. -
Monitoring & Adjusting
Site coordinator continuously monitors student and school progress and adjusts supports to optimize results. Read more. -
Evaluation
Continuous assessment of partners and student supports by the CIS affiliate to demonstrate results and improve practice. Read more. -
Proven Success
We increase graduation, reduce dropout, and improve attendance for schools in need. Read more.

The CIS affiliate brings support and resources to the schools in their community by doing the following:
- Conducts an assessment of the community to determine the need for CIS
- Partners with school district leadership to identify where CIS can have the greatest impact
- Hires, trains and assigns a site coordinator to a school in need
- Partners with the school districts, local agencies, businesses and foundations to garner support for the organization and its work
- Mobilizes community resources to address academic and nonacademic barriers
- Continuously evaluates their work at all levels to ensure progress is made and goals are met

Miss Liberty encouraged and lifted me up. She made me understand that even though things were bad, it didn't have to stay that way. She helped me set goals and stay motivated. She taught me how to speak up and ask for help.— Ellie
The site coordinator fills a pivotal role as the single point of contact working inside the school coordinating and providing integrated student supports. They work with school leadership and staff to connect students and families with community resources that help to address both academic and nonacademic needs, allowing students to show up healthy, safe, and prepared to learn.

Through conversations with school leadership and review of school improvement plans, the CIS affiliate, site coordinator and their school support team work to align goals that best meet the needs of the students, avoiding duplication and overlap of supports. When site coordinators actually begin providing supports, they collaborate with community partners and businesses to recruit volunteers for tutoring programs, build up clothing closets with support from local businesses or connect struggling families with much-needed medical attention – just to name a few.
We find that when we bring the right people to the table, we are able to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.



With the help of CIS, nearly 1.6 million students and their families were directly connected to essential resources.
The CIS site coordinator works with volunteers, partners and the local community to provide students with the supports they need to succeed both inside and outside the classroom. We provide these supports in three different tiers. By differentiating our supports, we are able to serve most students in a school and also focus attention on targeted students that have significant needs.
- Tier 1: School-wide services
- Tier 2: Targeted programs
- Tier 3: Individualized support
Here are some examples of the supports we provide to students across the country:



Of students that receive targeted support for the 2016-2017 school year:
- 99% stayed in school
- 94% of were promoted to the next grade
- 93% of seniors graduated or received a GED
- 88% met or made progress toward their academic improvement goals
Every year, CIS affiliates report outcomes on everything from student promotion rates to volunteer hours. We use this information to not only demonstrate our effectiveness, but also to inform the way we do our work.
In 2016-2017:
- 1.56 million students were served by 131 affiliated organizations in 25 states and D.C.
- 8,700 community partner organizations benefited at-risk kids
- 4,400 nonprofit and youth development professionals carried out the CIS mission
- 2,300 schools were served by CIS
- 43,000 community volunteers donated their time