Communities in Schools of Rowan County

Program Overview

Communities in Schools is the nation's leading dropout prevention organization. The mission of Communities in Schools is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and succeed in life.

Communities in Schools of Rowan County was founded in 1999.

Communities in Schools of Rowan County (CIS Rowan) places full-time Student Support Specialists in schools impacted by poverty and low student performance. Together with teachers, parents, support staff, and administrators, our Student Support Specialists design supports and interventions leading to improvement in four essential areas: attendance, behavior, coursework, and parental involvement.

Supports and interventions are research and/or evidence based and typically enlist the support of community volunteers. Our staff trains community volunteers to become tutors and mentors that augment the work of classroom teachers.

Through the generosity of a local donor, CIS Rowan is able to provide mobile hotspots to students who do not have internet access at their home. This allows students to complete homework assignments on their school-issued iPads.

Our supports and interventions are designed in three tiers. Tier 1 supports are available to the entire student body at a school. Tier 2 and 3 interventions are targeted at the lowest performing 10% of the student body. With parent permission, these students become case managed with individual student plans collaboratively created to meet student needs in attendance, behavior, coursework, and/or parent involvement.

Each case managed student has goals for success matched with appropriate metrics to indicate growth. The data for the work of Student Support Specialists is kept in a data management system so that student plans are monitored and improved as needed.

Cost Info

Student and Volunteer Success Stories

Communities in Schools of Rowan County is proud to fund college scholarships each year. To date, five CIS Rowan graduates have been accepted to attend Appalachian State University, Gardner-Webb University, The University of NC at Chapel Hill, and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.