Communities in Schools (CIS) celebrated serving 5,000 students in Federal Way Public Schools over the past year at their annual breakfast on March 7.

For the 451 of those students who received their integrated intensive services, CIS reported that 90% saw gains in academics, 92% improved attendance and 94% increased positive academic behavior.

The program does this through services such as providing “social-emotional support, family engagement, small group support, food, clothing, school supplies and just other basic needs,” FWPS Superintendent Dani Pfeiffer shared at the event.

Executive Director of CIS for King County David de la Fuente said at the end of the day, the point of the CIS program is to make sure that “these young people have a person to talk to.”

Twelve FWPS schools have the full implemented model of support that is consistent across the CIS national, evidence-based model.

CIS starts with placing a site coordinator in a school to “assess needs, make a plan, and coordinate intensive interventions for the kids most at risk for dropping out, along with services geared to the entire school,” according to their website.

This site coordinator then partners with other organizations — from other nonprofits to local businesses to social service agencies and health care providers — to meet student needs.

This work can look like a lot of different things, but one example was a recent Winter Festival at Todd Beamer High School that provided free resources like clothes, hygiene kits, haircuts, shoes and more.

That event was a partnership between Lori’s Closet, the Black Equality Coalition and Todd Beamer’s CIS Outreach Coordinator, Lanette Ava. Together, the organizations distributed over 2,500 pieces of clothing and shared resources with over 300 students and families.

To know what youth need, CIS staff connect with students where they are at. Sometimes hungry students start with stopping by a CIS room for a snack, then build a relationship with CIS staff over time. Others are referred by a counselor, like Alyssa Karie, a youth speaker at the March 7 breakfast.

Alyssa is in 8th grade now and emphasized the importance of having a trusted adult to talk to that doesn’t require anything from them and is there on their good days and bad days.

“We as kids deal with issues that are sometimes hard to communicate with our parents or teachers…I can depend on Ms. Jasmine to help me navigate through those challenges and make choices that align with my goals,” Alyssa said of her school’s CIS coordinator.

Alyssa was referred to CIS because she was experiencing bullying, and said that although it was hard to open up at first, over time, the relationship with the CIS program helped her at school and in her personal life.

During her speech, she thanked CIS for “helping me find my confidence, my strengths, my interests and dislikes and my voice.”

Medichael Mereste emceed the event and shared how CIS and another program, African Young Dreamers Empowerment International (AYDEPI) helped him. He is now a college student and a youth leader for AYDEPI

“I was kind of a lost kid…I only went for the snacks,” Mereste said. Eventually the CIS staff member and Mereste built a rapport and she began asking him questions that helped him think about the future, like where he saw himself in five years.

Medichael Mereste is now a college student and emceed the Communities in Schools event on March 7. Here, he and mentor and founder of Black Equality Coalition Anthony Curtis embrace as Curtis takes the stage. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror

Jazmin Griffin, School Outreach Coordinator at Evergreen Middle School, gets a round of applause at the event held there on March 7. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror