An innovative group that I’ve seen implemented through the CIS Model is the Guitar Club, run by Joaquin Urby, Site Coordinator at Chisholm Trail Middle School in Northwest ISD. The goal of Guitar Club was to build self-esteem and confidence for a group of five kids by learning to play the guitar. Urby purchased five […]

Gary Vickery began as a mentor at Lee Elementary in the Communities In Schools of North Texas Afterschool Centers on Education (ACE) program in January. He was initially paired with a fourth grade student, but after two weeks of meeting with his mentee, the student moved to a different school. Gary still expressed interest in […]

Allen, an eighth grader at Lake Dallas Middle School, joined the Communities In Schools of North Texas program in October 2014. He is one of my students that fully utilizes the CIS program. Allen referred himself to CIS to help him with family conflict and career and college readiness. He was part of our first […]

Homeless youth and unaccompanied students face a unique set of challenges. Many of them face seemingly insurmountable barriers to academic success. In fact, without a community of support and a network of resources, many of these students struggle academically. This month’s student brag is about a student who overcame those barriers. Jordan is a senior […]

To me, the beauty of the model of Communities In Schools is best seen through the mentoring program at Lewisville High School-Killough campus. My volunteer mentor, Rikki Evans, has exemplified the mission statement of Communities in Schools—to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. Rikki […]

The Classcraft Academic group at Chisholm Trail Middle School focuses on improving grades through an innovative online game that rewards academic success. Classcraft (www.classcraft.com) is a class management system based on a role-playing game. Students create a character and customize it by selecting a class, armor, and pets. I use it mainly as a way […]

G-Force is a registered student organization at the University of North Texas with defined roles established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board as part of the College for Texans Campaign. These UNT students travel around North Texas to various high schools to prepare students for college. They make group presentations, attend parent meetings and […]

Christian is an eighth grader at Lake Dallas Middle School. He was referred to the CIS program for basic needs. During his student assessment, I realized that he also needed Academic Support. In his first progress report, he was failing two core classes and when his first report card was released, Christian failed Math and […]