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Communities In Schools of Chicago (CISC)
helps schools coordinate services that meet the social, emotional
and health needs of students so that Chicago’s teachers can focus
on doing what they do best: teach.
With our network of 170 partner schools, we work with school staff
to identify student priorities, create relationships with service
providers, and coordinate programs and services that address needs.
CISC trains school staff in key practices including assessment of
student priorities and service coordination that help them build
and sustain effective partnerships with service providers.
The longterm change that CISC makes in Chicago public schools is
demonstrated by the success of our Veteran School Network — schools
that have partnered with CISC for five years or more. After four
years of training and coordination support, veteran schools are
now sustaining and creating community partnerships with technical
assistance, program referrals, and ongoing training from CISC. During
the 2008-2009 school year, nearly all veteran schools connected
services to students.
Over its decade-long partnership with CISC, Kinzie Elementary School has accessed an average of eight different programs each year and has learned how to sustain important partnerships. For the last five years, Kinzie has reconnected with several different agencies that CISC introduced to the school to address key priorities. The list includes Children's Memorial Hospital, Mt. Sinai Hospital, and Erie Neighborhood House.
“CISC’s program connections have touched and enriched the lives of many members of the Kinzie family,” said principal Sean Egan. “CISC helped us initially access these services, and each year our staff makes sure they continue to serve our students and families. These agencies have become integral parts of our school community and our partnerships continue to deepen. We look forward to them returning each year.”
An important part of working with schools
is building their capacity to create effective partnerships that
will provide significant longterm benefits for students. One way
that CISC builds school capacity is by hosting forums each year
for our main contacts at each school. The training forums bring
staff from CISC’s partner schools together and focus on best practices for establishing and maintaining strong partnerships with external partners. These school partnership forums also address timely topics – recent forums have focused on school-based strategies for promoting safe communities and mental health in the school community.
How to apply
WATCH HOW CISC MAKES A DIFFERENCE
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