Building relations and collaboration

As partners with families, parents, and guardians, Communities In Schools (CIS) of Michigan collaborates with them to identify students’ needs and the solutions necessary to keep them on a positive life trajectory. Once these obstacles have been identified, CIS staff work directly with families and school leaders to connect them with school and community resources that meet students’ needs.

It’s through these partnerships with trusted, caring adults that students and families receive the support they need to overcome challenges that impede their progress toward school participation and personal achievement. While CIS does not directly provide services to families and students, it advocates for and connects them to school and community resources that empower them. This approach reduces obstacles that keep students from succeeding in life, staying in school, graduating and moving forward on a pathway to personal fulfillment and economic mobility.

What we do:

• Promote and improve communication between parents, the school, and our community.

• Improve student learning.

• Increase parents’ knowledge of academic achievement and expectations.

• Connect students and families with supplemental support, basic needs, and community resources.

• Facilitate volunteering opportunities for parents and community members.

How we do it:

• Build and sustain trusting relationships.

• Home visits.

• Increase parent involvement in the school through relationship-building activities.

• Case manage students to provide additional academic and life-skills supports to them.

• Provide basic needs for students and their families and refer them to community partners and service providers.

Download the Parent and Guardian Consent Form and Media & Story Authorization