Communities in Schools (CIS)

Adolescents, especially those at-risk, and youth-serving organizations

Communities in Schools (CIS) is a youth–serving and dropout prevention organization. The mission of CIS is to link community resources and provide direct services to help young people succeed, stay in school, and prepare for life. CIS offers short-term services to every student and longer-term interventions that target students who need intensive ongoing assistance. The CIS Model is an approach that provides community-based, integrated student services with the following components:

• Active engagement of a school-based coordinator
• Comprehensive school- and student-level needs assessment
• Community asset assessment and identification of service partners
• Annual school and student-level plans for delivery of prevention and intervention services
• Delivery of appropriate prevention and intervention services
• Data collection and evaluation for reporting and modification of service strategies

Communities In Schools National Office
Communities In Schools National Office

• http://www.communitiesinschools.org/
• Email: cis@cisnet.org
• Phone: (800) 247-4543 x7

Homework

This program does not include a homework component.

Languages

Communities in Schools (CIS) has materials available in the following languages other than English:

For information on which materials are available in this language, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed in this page).

Manual Information

There is not a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Training Type/Location:

Information on training can be obtained by emailing cis@cisnet.org

Pre-Implementation Materials

There are no pre-implementation materials to measure organizational or provider readiness for Communities in Schools.

Formal Support for Implementation

There is no formal support available for implementation of Communities in Schools.

Fidelity Measures

There are no fidelity measures for Communities in Schools.

Established Psychometrics

There are no established psychometrics for Communities in Schools.

Fidelity Measures Required

No fidelity measures are required for Communities in Schools.

Implementation Guides or Manuals

There are no implementation guides or manuals for Communities in Schools.

Implementation Cost

There are no studies of the costs of Communities in Schools.

Research on How to Implement the Program

Research has not been conducted on how to implement Communities in Schools.

Child Welfare Outcome: Child/Family Well-Being

• Porowski, A., & Passa, A. (2011). The effect of Communities in Schools on high school dropout and graduation rates: Results from a multiyear, school-level quasi-experimental study. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 16(1), 24–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/10824669.2011.545977

  Type of Study: Pretest–posttest study with a nonequivalent control group (Quasi-experimental)

  Number of participants: 246 schools

  Population:

  • Age — Not specified
  • Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
  • Gender — Not specified
  • Status —

    Participants were high schools that implemented the Communities in Schools program for at least 3 consecutive years.

  Location/Institution: Florida, Georgia, Texas, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Washington.

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to examine the differences in high school dropout and graduation rates between Communities in Schools (CIS) and its comparison schools over a 4-year period, starting from the year prior to CIS implementation to 3 years after implementation. Participants were either CIS high schools or matched comparison high schools. Measures utilized include administrative data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ Common Core of Data and State Department of Education Web sites and offices. Results indicate that CIS high schools made stronger gains in on-time graduation rates, and had greater reductions in dropout rates, than comparison schools over the same period. Results were considerably stronger for CIS schools that implemented the CIS model with a high degree of fidelity. Limitations include propensity score matching is limited in its reliance on observed variables, the possibility that some unobservable factors (e.g., motivation to implement CIS within a school district) may account for at least part of the positive outcomes found in this study, and the sample size was limited because not all State Department of Education data could be aligned across all time points.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

• Hammond, C., Linton, D., Smink, J., & Drew, S. (2007). Dropout risk factors and exemplary programs. National Dropout Prevention Center, Communities In Schools, Inc.