Stay Informed

Kaci has worked with CIS part-time for two years and then completed her first-year full-time last school year. This is her second year as the full- time Success Coach at Cedar Grove Middle School.

Kaci has loved education for her whole life. She started college as an Education major and switched to a Psychology major halfway through college. She has worked in helping professions for her entire working career. Kaci chose to work with Communities In Schools because she always wanted to work directly with students. Kaci considered teaching but did not feel like she could see the direct impact that she wanted to make as much. This job popped up on her Indeed one day and she thought that it was perfect, it was everything that she wanted but that she had assumed did not exist. Kaci enjoyed knowing that there is a difference being made, no matter how small. Helping students to be successful is something Kaci holds very close to her heart.

Kaci says that has surprised her most about the Success Coach role is the random encounters that she has. There are some days when she looks around and asks herself, “Did that really just happen?” Kaci shared that lives are composed of three main components- beauty, obstacles, and resilience. Seeing these three concepts play out in real time has been one of the most eye-opening experiences for her. She also shared that the most rewarding aspect of her work is walking into the school, into public spaces, and hearing random students shouting her name through the halls. That gives her a positive feeling and lets her know she has been successful in building positive, trusting, and respectful relationships with the students.

Kaci works at a very high needs school and managing the needs of every student on her caseload can prove to be a challenge when she is being pulled in every direction. However, she is proud that she has been able to see transformations in students and in families. She can see the amount of resilience they demonstrate in the face of adversity. Kaci is proud of her dedication and the connections she has built with her students through helping them address their challenges. For Kaci’s students, the biggest challenge is the lack of role models because they live in such a rural community. She tries to have open and honest communication with students, families and caring adults in students’ lives and is direct about their needs so they can build collaborate relationships that support student success.

Through my conversations with the public, Kaci has realized that the majority think that youth today are disrespectful and rude. Although these kids are different from how Kaci grew up not that long ago, it is important to view life through their eyes as it is today. Things have changed no matter what way you want to look at it. Social media and the internet have opened the world up to these children and sometimes this is a great thing. On the flip side, this also opens the door to endless insecurities, faceless bullying, and much more pressure than what was once in a child’s world. If you take anything away from Kaci’s insights, she wants it to be the understanding that these children are the first generation raised completely on screens, and they need guidance. She finds them to be truly wonderful and urges those around them to always be kind and understanding.

Finally, Kaci shared, “The most important moments to me are when I make students feel seen, listened to, and when they understand something that did not make sense before. Regardless of the content of what I am teaching – academics, attendance, behavior skills- the impact is there, and the connection is meaningful and purposeful every time.”

We thank Kaci for being the genuinely caring person that she is, for accepting students as the unique individuals they are, and for always being in their corner, cheering them on to bright futures! Kaci embodies what it means to be #AllinforKids in her community!