Our mission is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.
UNLOCKING STUDENT POTENTIAL
For 35 years, Communities In Schools of Chicago has cultivated student potential throughout the city. Each year, our team at CIS of Chicago surrounds tens of thousands of young people with support so they can stay on their path to high school graduation and achieve in life.
When our young people succeed, our whole city succeeds. When they reach their potential, the future is bright.
Impact In Our Community
Chicago Public Schools students benefited from programs and services provided by or connected through CIS of Chicago.*
students in grades K-12 were served by Student Supports Managers. Together, they created a plan to develop the skills and access the resources these students need to reach their full potential.*
schools were served by CIS team members, who linked community partner programming that addressed student and school needs.*
*Data from the 2022-23 school year
PROVIDING HOLISTIC SUPPORT
Chicago’s public-school students and their families have endured unprecedented challenges since the start of the decade. A global pandemic, increased violence, and rising economic insecurity have taken a significant toll on our schools. The U.S. Surgeon General recently named mental health as an area of serious concern for today’s youth and issued a call to action for all caring adults.
CIS of Chicago responds to these challenges by ensuring that students have access to the supports they need to strengthen their mental health and overall wellbeing. Our team does this by providing direct services to individual students, as well as coordinating the supports provided by community partners, to bolster entire school communities.
Latest News
Chicago Tribune: When Strength, Resilience and #BlackGirlMagic is a Burden
The death of Lincoln University administrator Antoinette “Bonnie” Candia-Bailey by suicide “created a torrent of emotion,” the Chicago Tribune reports, “ultimately shining a light on
Chalkbeat Chicago: I lost a friend to gun violence when I was in high school. Now, I counsel Chicago students facing similar pain.
In a First Person essay published in Chalkbeat Chicago, CIS’ Latonya Booker shares how her experience with loss due to gun violence helped shape her
Barron’s: How to Make Sure Your Gift Hits the Mark
In this season of charitable giving, how can you ensure that your financial support best aligns with your organization of choice? Our CEO, Jane Mentzinger,
Our CIS team works to connect schools with unique experiences, like this field trip we linked to Zapata Elementary. Recently, fifth graders and sixth graders visited the Chicago Blackhawks Fifth Third Arena to learn how to ice skate! ⛸
The team's mascot made an appearance, the students had the opportunity to tour the locker room, and the field trip ended with with a treat of hot chocolate and cookies. What an experience for young people and their families. ... See MoreSee Less
Seventh and eighth graders from Sawyer E.S. went on a field trip to the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago to explore the exhibit, Native America: In Translation last month, and they had the opportunity to see the works of nine Native artists and learn about the legacy of colonialism across North America.
CIS' Arts & Culture Partnership Specialist Katia Marzolf Borione helped connect Sawyer with the experience and was able to observe the learning in action! According to Katia, students were able to explore the images' connections to their own lives and even participated in a hands-on paper collage project. ... See MoreSee Less
It's #SELday! And today we're celebrating the importance of social-emotional learning (SEL) in the growth and development of our students.
To help recognize the day, Lee, our CIS intern at Cardenas Elementary School, designed a Cup of Kindness display outside our office door, where students could share kind messages with each other.
We love seeing #SEL in action! ... See MoreSee Less
Do you have a plan in place for when an emergency strikes? What about one to reach a personal or professional goal?
Often, we think of creating detailed plans for big events, but having a plan in place for responding to everyday challenges can be just as important. And for some young people, plans can be critical resources to help them come to school confident and ready to learn.
CIS’ Student Supports Managers are helping young people who are experiencing feelings of stress and anxiety with creating tailored plans of their own, so they can identify what is triggering their emotions and have the tools they need to cope.
Learn more about this support in action at a CIS partner school on the Northwest Side and one on the Southwest Side: ... See MoreSee Less
Creating a Step-by-Step Plan - Communities In Schools of Chicago
www.cisofchicago.org
Do you have a plan in place for when an emergency strikes? What about one to reach a personal or professional goal?Members of our program team are in Las Vegas this week for the @communitiesinschools annual Student Supports Institute. The purpose of the SSI is to bring together program staff from CIS affiliates from across the country to connect and share best practices to help students succeed socially, emotionally, and academically. CIS is a learning organization, and the SSI is one of many collaboratives our National org hosts to promote that important goal.
Slide 1: Our teammates (from right) Shipra, Stephanie, Razz, and Robin with our National CEO and President @rey4sa and one of our awesome CIS Nevada alums.
Slide 2. Our Chief Operating Officer Judith with our beloved founder Bill Milliken and his wife Jean.
Slide 3: Day 2 of SSI is underway!!!
#allinforkids ... See MoreSee Less
Meet Jeanette, one of our CIS Student Supports Managers! Jeanette supports a caseload of students on the Southwest Side who need extra help with their attendance, behavior, grades, and social-emotional learning skills.
We asked Jeanette what she enjoys most about her role. "I love having the opportunity to learn and grow with my students," she said. "Building relationships with them and seeing their growth, even if it’s in the smallest way, is a gratifying feeling."
Relationships and impact are two of our core values at CIS, and we're grateful for our team members who help bring these values to life across the city -- each and every day. ... See MoreSee Less
"People ask me how I’m able to make progress with kids as young as kindergartners who’ve lost brothers and fathers, aunts and uncles to guns and drugs. I tell them that it starts with relationship building," writes Latonya Booker, a CIS Student Supports Manager.
"When I share my story and my experiences with the young people in my school, they ask me questions. They want to know how I persevered. More often than not, they open up and I find out what they’re afraid of, or nervous about, or secretly hoping comes true. With regular meetings and trust-building, they let down their guard and I teach them skills that help them cope when stressful situations happen."
Learn more about Latonya's work providing direct services to K-8 students and how her personal experiences helped propel her on a path of purpose supporting Chicago's young people: ... See MoreSee Less
A Path of Purpose - Communities In Schools of Chicago
www.cisofchicago.org
By Latonya Booker, Student Supports Manager, Communities In Schools of ChicagoThis week, our School Partnership Specialist Marlena had the opportunity to see a CIS connection in action at Harold Washington Elementary!
There, a member of OBAP - Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals spoke with middle-school students about his career as an AP mechanic with Southwest Airlines and the pathways one could take to pursue a job in aviation.
According to Marlena, the students loved hearing about all of the perks of working for an airline, and many were excited to learn about the camp offered through OBAP. ✈️ ... See MoreSee Less
Educators! Parents! There’s still time for Chicago students to participate in the Do the Write Thing challenge! Submissions are due this Friday.
Do the Write Thing asks students to share how violence has impacted their lives and what they think the solutions are — through the power of the written word.
Students write 📝 We listen 👂
Visit cisofchicago.org/do-the-write-thing/ for more info! ... See MoreSee Less
Do the Write Thing - Communities In Schools of Chicago
cisofchicago.org
Each year, young people across Chicago respond to the call to end youth violence through the Do the Write Thing challenge.Mr. Hughes grew up on the South Side and is a CPS graduate. For the past 2 school years he’s been our Student Supports Manager at @westcottelementaryschool
One of the powerful protective factors in the lives of young people is having caring adults in their lives. Mr. Hughes plays this role at Westcott by being a mentor, motivator, and trusted listener for many students.
Learn more about our team’s work at schools across Chicago by visiting us at cisofchicago.org ... See MoreSee Less
This week, our Database Administrator Justin Brown celebrated one year at CIS of Chicago! We caught up with him this week and asked him to share what he enjoyed most about his role.
"Before CIS, I would say using data to make smarter decisions," Justin said, "but since working at CIS, I really enjoy meeting everyone and having the opportunity to paint the picture of all the hard work they are accomplishing -- and use data to help them… make smarter decisions!"
We appreciate you, Justin! And are thankful for your expertise in helping us all make data-driven decisions that are responsive to and anticipate the needs of our students, families, schools, and partners. ... See MoreSee Less
Each fall, our Partnership Team meets with school leaders across the city to understand their priorities for the year. This information helps our team connect schools with community organizations who can deliver the resources they are looking for.
It also gives CIS unique insight into how school needs have changed – and in other cases, how they’ve remained consistent – over time. This year, 238 school leaders ranked their yearly priorities, and a few trends resonated with our team.
1️⃣ Anti-bullying programs and resources have been the No. 1 priority for CIS schools since 2017.
2️⃣ Programs that help students develop social and emotional skills increased in demand after the pandemic.
3️⃣ Requests for essential needs items, like school supplies and hygiene products, increased drastically after the pandemic, and it's something our team anticipates will remain a top priority for schools.
Learn more in our latest blog post! ... See MoreSee Less
CIS Schools' Top Priorities for Meeting Student Need - Communities In Schools of Chicago
www.cisofchicago.org
Each fall, the Communities In Schools (CIS) of Chicago Partnership Team meets with school leaders across the city to understand their priorities for the year.