Our Initiatives

 

Early Childhood

Communities In Schools believes that every child should have a positive start to life, including preschool. Our partnership with the GBC’s Mark H. Dawson Child and Family Center in Northeastern Nevada helps us to manage the Little Red Caboose Preschool in Carlin, a community with no private or public preschool services. The preschool is now in its third year with children from the community thriving as they prepare for kindergarten.

Students enrolled in the Little Red Caboose in 2010-11 exhibited substantial growth and development, as measured by the Brigance Assessment. The students’ average increase on this assessment was 21.69 points, a significant gain.

Fellows Academy

Communities In Schools partners with the Clark and Elko County School District to operate our Fellows Academy. Fellows Academy is an in-school, dropout prevention program that assists at-risk youth at targeted schools in successfully starting and completing high school.

Fellows Academy students learn behavioral strategies and life skills that are key to success. Fellows Academy teachers use tutoring and credit redemption programs to help students catch up academically. Career exploration and service-learning experiences help students to develop real-life skills and start planning for the future.
Fellows Academy students enrolled in the fully scaled program in 2010-11 made the following gains:

  • 100% of students decreased the number of out-of-school suspension days.
  • 85% of students decreased the number of days they spent in in-school suspension.
  • 100% of students decreased the number of truancies received.
  • 71% of students decreased their total number of tardies.
  • 72% of students decreased their total number of absences.
  • 92% of students increased their GPA.

Hunger Prevention

In Northeastern Nevada and the Colorado River Region, food-fragile children are sent home every Friday afternoon with backpacks full of nutritious food to help them make it through the weekend. There is no charge for this food, which is purchased with grant funding or donated by generous people, churches, service groups and businesses throughout our community.

In 2010-11, Colorado River Region school nurses reported that 92% of participating children’s overall health improved since joining the program. In Northeastern Nevada, 72% of children participating in the morning breakfast program had a decrease in morning hunger, and 19% of children reported that they would otherwise not eat in the mornings.

Mental Health & Counseling

Some youth need a little more than mentoring to overcome their challenges. Communities In Schools offers counseling services to students in Northeastern Nevada via video telehealth network managed by the Office of Rural Health. Students in Clark County receive counseling services right in their schools. Proctored UNLV counseling students provide services to ensure that at-risk children receive the extra support they need to be successful in school.

In 2010-11, 93% of Southern Nevada students who participated in ongoing counseling for 1 semester and 100% of students who participated for 2 semesters improved in at least one target area. In Northeastern Nevada, 60% of surveyed students reported feeling less angry, 80% reported feeling less sad, and 100% reported that they felt better prepared to make positive choices in the future.

Pediatric Medical Services

Immunizations save lives. Yet many families cannot afford immunizations, flu shots or other preventive medicine, so they go without. Communities In Schools partners with organizations in both Northeastern and Southern Nevada to ensure that children receive the immunizations they need to stay healthy.

In Southern Nevada, Communities In Schools also manages two health centers that provide pediatric medical services including sick child visits, well child visits, sports physicals, and dental services to children ages 0-18. A third site in scheduled to open in 2012.Southern Nevada also has a vision program that helps connect children with eye exams and glasses.

Resource Centers

Resource Centers have been placed in several of our most at-risk schools to provide families with food, school supplies, and hygiene packs.

School Supplies

Partnerships with community organizations have enabled us to provide our schools with the supplies – including paper, pencils, and crayons – that children need to do their schoolwork at the start of each school year.