CIS Support Services More Critical Than Ever in Current Funding Landscape
The Education Law Center’s recent Making the Grade 2025 report ranks North Carolina last nationally in its efforts to fund public schools and second-to-last in its level of public school funding, according to a new report. The report is an assessment of the condition of school funding across the United States. It evaluates per-pupil funding, the allocation of funding and the fairness of a state’s school funding system. North Carolina received an “F” grade for funding effort, which measures investment in PreK-12 public education as a percentage of GDP (gross domestic product). The report says North Carolina makes a lower-than-average effort to fund its public schools. The state ranks at the bottom of all 50 states in this category, per the report.
In Brunswick County, when funds are low that means students can go without the breadth and depth of support and intervention they need to achieve academically, socially, and emotionally. It adds more pressure on classroom teachers who are already stretching resources and doing their best to meet the needs of all students. In our school district, over 60% of all students are economically disadvantaged. This leaves them at a disadvantage in comparison to their peers from higher income households in being able to be prepared for learning with the supplies needed, the proper clothing for all temperatures adequate nutrition, and a host of our needs. Once they get to school, they can struggle in the classroom and fall behind if there is no one there to provide additional support outside of the classroom to build foundational skills in core reading and math and then help them work their way toward academic proficiency at grade level. Once a student falls behind, they are at much greater risk of dropping out of school. Falling behind shows up as truancy, negative behavior in the classroom, social isolation from positive peers, and over the long term in poor overall emotional and physical health outcomes,
Communities In Schools is critical to at-risk students but during times of reduced funding for public schools, it is eve more essential to student success. Each school year, our Success Coaches work full time at assigned high-need schools in the county as embedded team members of that school’s staff team. Students who are at risk, due to a variety of risk factors, of not being promoted to the next grade at the end of the school year, and who are at risk for dropping out of school, are referred to our Action for Success dropout prevention program. The Success Coach secures a consent from the student’s parent/guardian to provide services and then reviews the student’s records from the prior school year – report card grades, disciplinary records, and attendance rates – to set performance baselines and determine the type and intensity of services needed. The Success Coach then develops an individualized Student Support Plan and sets goals for the student focused on attendance, behavior, coursework, and/or social skill and character development. Evidence-based interventions are implemented by the Success Coach and services are monitored and adjusted throughout the school year, based on student progress. In addition, basic need items, club activities, field trips, reading materials for home use, parent engagement activities, and school-wide events such as Career Days and Kindness Week are provided by the Success Coach to ensure a comprehensive approach. Community volunteers are also utilized as one-on-one mentors, or “Lunch Buddies”, for students needing extra support and encouragement.
Communities In Schools has been providing dropout prevention services to Brunswick County Schools students for the past 30 years and has consistently achieved positive results for students. As we conduct our work in today’s educational environment, it is important to remember that students are at the heart of all we do and we must find ways to continue supporting them as best as we can, in spite of funding and other external barriers. We remain committed more than ever to fulfilling our mission “to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.”
To find out how you can support the needs of local students and partner with Communities in Schools to support student success, please contact our Executive Director, Bonnie Jordan, at bjordan@cisbrunswick.org or our Program Operations Officer, Mallory Wells, at mwells@cisbrunswick.org. Together we can help prepare students for a bright future!
