Communities in Schools of Jacksonville

Cis works both inside and outside the classroom to help students find new paths to success through case management, literacy and afterschool programs. These programs are designed to keep students on track for graduation while connecting them to resources that serve the needs of their entire family. Site coordinators are embedded directly into 37 duval county public Schools with low-income, disadvantaged students who have been identified as at-risk of falling behind or dropping out of school. The case management division is comprised of four programs: student enrichment program, bridge to success program, achievers for life and gear up. The student enrichment program (sep), which Communities in Schools of Jacksonville has operated since its inception, follows the national cis model that uses evidence-based practices to surround students with a community of support to help them stay in school, graduate and achieve success in life. At the high school level, additional focus is placed on college and career development. Full-time site coordinators work individually and in group sessions with about 75 students at each school throughout the school year to advocate, mentor and counsel them. Home visits and parental involvement are essential parts of the program, and site coordinators connect students to needed community resources. Hundreds of other students are reached through schoolwide services provided by the site coordinators, such as career fairs, men's and ladies' seminars, literacy programs and parent events. in the first nine-week grading period of the 2024/25 school year, sep provided services to a total of 863 students. These students achieved the following: gpa in 6th through 12th grade - 2.87; 99% missed less than 21 days of school; 97% has no in-school suspensions; 99% had no out-of-school suspensions; 38% male, 62% female; race: 1% american indian, 1% asian, 74% black, 7% hispanic, 4% multi and 13% white. Bridge to success program provides site coordinators who work with students currently over-age for their grade level. The 476 students in this program achieved: gpa in 6th through 12 grade - 2.12; 84% missed less than 21 days of school; 7% had no in-school or out-of-school suspensions; 56% male, 44% female; race: 1% asian, 85% black, 5% hispanic, 2% multi and 7% white. Achievers for life (afl) is a dropout prevention initiative developed and funded by the united way of northeast Florida, in partnership with Communities in Schools of Jacksonville, jewish family and community services, and big brothers big sisters of northeast Florida. Afl targets sixth grade students exhibiting risk factors of school disengagement including low gpas, low fcat scores and excessive absences, for whom cis provides family support, a mentor and academic assistance. of the 1,122 students served: gpa in 6th through 8th grade - 2.69; 100% missed less than 21 days of school; 96% had no in-school suspensions; 92% had no out-of- school suspensions; male - 48%, 52% female; race: 1% american indian, 1% asian, 70% black, 10% hispanic, 5% multi and 13% white. Gear up, a seven-year federal program in partnership with duval county public Schools, works with a cohort of students starting in 7th grade and continues with these students through 12th grade plus one year of post- secondary education. of the 867 students served in the first nine-week grading period of the 2024-25 school year: gpa in 10th grade - 2.48; 96% missed less than 21 days of school; 95% had no in-school or out-of-school suspensions; 53% male, 47% female; race: 1% american indian, 1% asian, 68% black, 15% hispanic, 4% multi and 11% white.

Since its inception in 1999, Communities in Schools of Jacksonville's americorps duval reads literacy program has provided intensive one-on-one and small group literacy tutoring for underperforming students in elementary school who are reading at one or more grade levels below their class. Americorps members participate in a rigorous two-week training and orientation to learn how to identify students in need of literacy tutoring. Training consists of members learning the common core standards and utilizing the stars literacy curriculum to help support classroom instruction. Once the school year begins, members engage the school staff and principals to help identify students who need literacy tutoring as indicated by reading assessment scores. Student reading achievement is measured through cis's partnership with duval county public Schools (dcps). Throughout the year, students and americorps tutors work with dcps-provided programs achieve3000 and i-ready to determine their status and progress in math and reading. The data is used to identify low-level readers, create a target data baseline of student reading skills and compare the pre- and post- test scores to measure progress of students throughout the academic year. The program's goals are to provide 90 minutes each week of individual and group literacy tutoring to at least 400 underperforming readers and for 80% of these readers to achieve reading improvement with 70% being promoted to the next grade level. The 819 students in the literacy program achieved the following in the first nine-week grading period of the 2024-25 school year: 99% missed less than 21 days of school; 99% had no in-school suspensions; 97% had no out- of-school suspensions; 49% male, 51% female; race: 1% american indian, 73% black, 11% hispanic, 4% multi, 1% pacific and 10% white.

Communities in Schools of Jacksonville offers a quality, free, afterschool program in elementary, middle and high duval county public Schools to provide students with a safe environment where they can complete their homework under certified teacher supervision and have the opportunity to participate in enrichment activities like sports, symphony and robotics. For students in kindergarten through eighth grade, the afterschool program operates monday through friday for three hours each day and focuses on six core areas - academic enrichment, sports and recreation, life skills, cultural enrichment, parental involvement and community service. Each afternoon, students are welcomed into a general meeting place, checked in by quality after-school staff and enjoy a nutritious snack. Students then spend up to 75 minutes each day working on academics under the supervision of a certified teacher and after-school staff members. After academics, students participate in enrichment activities such as cheerleading, dance, arts and crafts, and sports. Each of these activities is led by highly qualified after-school staff members who are background screened by duval county public Schools. Certain afterschool sites are able to offer unique opportunities to students. The jump start strings program, in partnership with the Jacksonville symphony orchestra, allows elementary school students to learn and play string instruments while being instructed by the symphony musicians. Participating students have a chance to perform for family and friends at the end of the school year. Other unique activities include robotics, animation and video production. After students complete these activities, they gather together to enjoy a nutritious dinner and then are dismissed and picked up by parents or approved guardians. of the 2,076 students served in the first nine-week grading period of the 2024-25 school year: gpa - 2.71; 100% missed less than 21 days; 95% had no in-school or out-of-school suspensions; 23% male, 42% female; race: 1% american indian; 1% asisan/pacific, 73% black, 9% hispanic, 4% multi and 12% white. Cis serves an additional 271 students in the hope = success afterschool program in 6 high Schools.