Programs
Integrated Student
Support

At Communities In Schools of Memphis, we work to remove the non-academic barriers that prevent student success in the classroom.
Working directly inside local schools, our Specialists provide personalized daily interventions to students in grades Pre-K-12 to address chronic absenteeism, academic failure, behavioral issues, social service needs, and more.
Words from Others

"My children and I experienced financial hardship after the death of my father in 2018. We bounced from house to house and eventually became completely homeless. After learning about our circumstances, our Specialist served as the connective tissue between our problems and available resources. She assisted us with receiving housing assistance, as well as other services being offered. She is not only an on-site representative, but also FAMILY. Every school should have a CISM student support specialist. I am forever grateful for everything she has helped us accomplish."

Walteria, Aspire Hanley Elementary School Parent
Context
In Memphis and Shelby County, many children are living in poverty and face enormous challenges outside of the classroom. Without community support, they are more at risk for missing school, dropping out, and failing to earn a high school diploma.
Our school-based staff, known as Integrated Student Support Specialists (or site coordinators), partner with teachers to identify challenges that students face in class and at home, and implement our unique model, coordinating with community partners to bring outside resources inside the school. From immediate needs like food or clothing to more complex ones like counseling or emotional support, we do whatever it takes to help students come to school, stay in school, and remain on track to graduation.
Today, CIS of Memphis serves 3,200 students in 8 schools in Shelby County. For the 2021-22 academic year, our site coordinators provided 22,463 targeted services to students over the span of 20,372 case management hours. By helping our most vulnerable students, we are building stronger, healthier, and more economically stable communities where every person is capable of reaching his or her greatest potential.
Approach
Our evidence-based model brings resources inside of schools – easily accessible and customized to individual students and local communities.
We are guided by a set of five basic principles that we believe every child needs and deserves to be successful. Our student support specialists establish strategic plans to address the needs of the school community and its most vulnerable students. They are responsible for identifying the barriers that students face and strategically aligning and delivering needed resources so that teachers can teach and students can focus on learning.
The 5 Basics
1.
A one-on-one relationship
with a caring adult
2.
A safe place to learn
and grow
3.
A healthy start and
a healthy future
4.
A marketable skill to use
upon graduation
5.
A chance to give back to
peers and the community
Our work isn't possible without your support.
Learn how you can help us make an impact through a powerful partnership.