In 1993, the Greater New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce came up with a budget for a pilot program of the national Communities in Schools organization, serving five campuses. Now, Communities in Schools of South Central Texas serves students at 55 campuses across six school districts including New Braunfels, Comal, Luling, Marion, Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City and Seguin ISDs.
What’s new
The nonprofit organization mentors students with the goal of keeping them in school.
“In just the last five years, we’ve doubled in size,” said Dawn Koehler, the development director for CIS-SCT. “That’s very exciting. The unfortunate part about that is that the needs are growing—more kids need our help than ever before.”
Once a campus is selected for the program, a site coordinator is assigned to the campus. Once a student is recommended, the coordinator can focus attention for that student’s individual needs. “That gets us help about the child’s needs in either academic, attendance or behavioral help,” Supervisor Shelley Betsworth said.
Betsworth said those components comprise health and human services, supportive guidance, parent and family involvement, college and career readiness, enrichment experiences, and academic enhancement. “Some of our site coordinators work and help with academics ... or one-on-one mentors and also help with and try to get them where they need to be,” she said.
Koehler said the organization also counsels students after graduation in the first two or three years to be successful in early adulthood.
“When our students graduate from high school, we don’t just say ‘Bye, bye, adios, good luck,’” Koehler said. “We really help them to get to the next stage of their life, ... whether that’s going to college or getting into trade school, ... really helping them get to that next phase of life.”
How it works
Site coordinators work with schools to assess needs unique to each student. They then devise a plan to build support systems for students and their families. Help provided by Communities in Schools of South Central Texas can include:
• Academic assistance
• Basic needs
• Behavioral intervention
• College and career preparation
• Community and service learning
• Enrichment opportunities
• Family engagement
• Life skills
• Mental health care
• Physical health care
All these efforts over the past 30 years of CIS-SCT have reduced the number of dropouts, improved attendance rates and increased graduation rates.
Dig Deeper
CIS affiliates receive funding in the following ways:
Communities in Schools South Central Texas
• 161 S. Castell Ave., New Braunfels
• 830-620-4247
• www.cis-sct.org
