Communities In Schools of Nevada (CIS), the nation’s leading evidence-based dropout prevention organization serving 92 schools with regional offices in the Clark, Elko, Humboldt and Washoe County school districts, announces its students achieved a 94% graduation rate for the 2021-2022 school year and 99% of kindergarten through 11th grade students advancing to the next grade level.
Site Coordinator, Amilet provided consistent support and resources to Treasure (Class of 2022 graduate). From serving as vice president of the student council to getting a scholarship for her dream university, Treasure is a great success story!
CIS’ 94% graduation rate is based on 453 high school seniors like Treasure. These students come from 14 Title I or high-needs public schools across the state who are case-managed by CIS staff. Case management is CIS’s most intensive intervention, serving students with tremendous potential and who often lack equal opportunity to succeed because of systemic inequities experienced due to race, zip code or socioeconomic background. Of these CIS case-managed students that graduated, 50% plan to attend college (associate’s or bachelor’s degree), 32% plan to join the workforce, 14% plan to get a certification, apprenticeship or attend a trade school and 4% plan to join the military.
“We commend our students for achieving a 94% graduation rate for the 2021-2022 school year, an unprecedented year given it was the first full school year back to in-person since the pandemic,” said Tami Hance-Lehr, CEO and state director, Communities In Schools of Nevada. “This metric truly speaks to the effectiveness of our evidence-based model of Integrated Student Supports and demonstrates what we can achieve when we collectively look at the whole child and provide tailored support for each student.”
For the 2021-2022 school year, CIS served 75,697 students in kindergarten through 12th grade at 81 schools throughout Nevada, and case-managed a total of 4,795 students.
CIS’ graduation rate increased by two percent compared to the previous, 2020-2021 school year. The 94% graduation rate ties CIS’ record which was achieved in the 2018-2019 school year. All data is authenticated through a rigorous verification process by the Communities In Schools National Office.
CIS is proud of the students it serves who have graduated or advanced to the next grade level from high-need, Title I schools, where a large percentage of the student population lives in poverty. Students of color and those living in poverty face significant opportunity gaps, as evidenced by the disaggregated graduation rates for Nevada in the 2021-22 school year.
CIS site coordinators are interwoven into schools to build meaningful relationships with students, families, staff, and the broader community to bring necessary support into the school building. The organization taps into a statewide network of more than 120 community nonprofits, partners, and agencies, literally bringing the community into the school, to get students whatever they need to overcome the barriers they face that prevent them from achieving academically. From eyeglasses, dental care, health care and professional counseling, to food, school supplies, clothing and even housing, CIS identifies student needs and finds a way to address them, closing the gaps these students experience in their everyday lives. CIS’ long-term vision is for every child enrolled in a Title I or high-needs school to have access to a CIS site coordinator and the organization’s evidence-based model of Integrated Student Supports, otherwise known as wraparound services.
