News & Events

Communities In Schools Recognized by President Obama as a Model Program

Yesterday Communities In Schools National President Dan Cardinali represented Communities In Schools at a gathering of national education leaders with President Barack Obama at a White House event. Said Cardinalli, "It was my great pleasure to represent you at a gathering of national education leaders with President Barack Obama at the White House this morning. While I was quite pleased to hear the President's commitment to reducing the dropout rate and to helping young people graduate from high school prepared for success—as evidenced by his plan to provide $3.5 billion to improve under-performing schools and $900 million in school Turnaround Grants—I was especially gratified to hear him recognize the work of Communities In Schools by name."

That recognition, with some of the lead-in from President Obama's speech to give it context, went as follows: "As my Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, says, our kids get only one chance at an education, and we need to get it right. Of course, getting it right requires more than just transforming our lowest performing schools. It requires giving students who are behind in school a chance to catch up and a path to a diploma. It requires focusing on students, from middle school through high school, who face factors at home, in the neighborhood, or in school that put them at risk of dropping out. And it requires replicating innovative ideas that make class feel engaging and relevant -- because most high school dropouts in a recent study said the reason they dropped out was that they weren't interested in class and they weren't motivated to do their work. So that's why we'll build on the efforts of places like Communities in Schools that make sure kids who are at risk of dropping out have one-on-one support."

CIS of Miami Alumnus Featured In National CIS Newsletter "Coming Full Circle: A Student Success Story" features CIS of Miami employee and alumnus Eve McKinsey and details her path to success. View Full Story in Newsletter » (page 5)

200 Pairs of Shoes Donated to CIS of Miami Students Payless ShoeSource has selected Communities In Schools of Miami, Inc. (CIS) among 630 other non-profits across the nation, as a recipient of their first-ever national grassroots effort to deliver $1 million worth of free shoes to children of families in need this holiday season. Communities In Schools of Miami will deliver 200 free pairs of shoes to students throughout Miami-Dade county. In addition, CIS will organize a field trip to transport children from the CIS after school programs to the local Payless ShoeSource to select their own shoes.

Communities In Schools Mentioned In A New Book Dan Cardinali, CIS National President says, "Communities In Schools has been featured in a new book that highlights best practices in non-profit business operations. The Charismatic Organization: 8 Ways to Grow a Nonprofit that Builds Buzz, Delights Donors, and Energizes Employees, by Shirley Sagawa and Deb Jospin, cites CIS and a select group of other high performing organizations as examples of nonprofits that consistently draw strong networks of support around themselves." Read about the book at: www.charismaticorganization.com.

Office Depot Donates Bookpacks Office Depot donates 200 book packs for our Miami Reads students to kick off the new school year. Pictured is Vernon Jacobs Project Director of Communities In Schools of Miami. Click to photo to view full size image.

Do Something 101 and Staples Donate School Supplies CIS students received an assortment of back to school supplies thanks to the DO Something 101 program in collaboration with Staples. The supplies were distributed to students in the tutoring programs.