2. COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS – ALBANY/DOUGHERTY
The history…
 a part of this community since 1995, we are also affiliates of the
state and national organizations
 The only organization focused on dropout prevention to
graduation
 Our affiliate has seen the best of times and the worst of times;
grants and funding were readily available and generous in the
early years
 CISAD was in several schools, providing mentoring, tutoring
and on-going services to keep students engaged and enrolled

3. COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS – ALBANY/DOUGHERTY
Current board is comprised of  Officers: Judith Corbett – Chair, Michael Harris – Vice Chair, Joe
Najjar – Secretary, Kenneth McMillan – Treasurer
 Rachelle Scott, Dr. John Culbreath, Wendy Wilson, Dr. Michael
Rogers, Betty White, Greg Edwards
 Executive Director is Virginia Monroe
 There are two part-time Site Coordinators

4. CISAD – GETTING IT DONE
 CIS uses a community development approach to coordinate
prevention and intervention services and programs
designed to support students
 In the Dougherty County School System, CISAD aims to
reach potential dropouts by weaving existing resources into
a safety net that responds to each child holistically, creates
a safer school environment and allows student and
educators to perform at their fullest potential

5. CISAD – GETTING IT DONE
In 2013 as a result, we
had 32 graduates from
the program for 5% of
total DCSS count
 Another 20 students
completed all
coursework for
graduation yet
missed the required
score on one
graduation test
section

6. COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS – ALBANY/DOUGHERTY
Mission: to surround students with a community of
support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in
life
 CISAD believes every child needs and deserves the five
basics –
 A personal, one-on-one relationship with a caring adult
 A safe place to learn and grow
 A healthy start and a healthy future
 A marketable skill to use upon graduation
 A chance to give back to peers and the community

7. COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS – ALBANY/DOUGHERTY
Vision: All students served by Communities In
Schools – Albany/Dougherty will be enriched and
inspired to succeed in school and in life
 Our work is never done; we try to get in where we fit in with
each student
 We offer information and awareness to all the students at a site
 Those who need more are referred to the Performance Learning
Center

8. COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS – ALBANY/DOUGHERTY
WE know that …
 Poverty, illiteracy and teen pregnancy factor into the high
dropout rate
 potential candidates are behind in earning graduation
credits and may be more successful in earning credits in
a smaller, non-traditional environment
 The Performance Learning Center (PLC) model has
proven most successful in reaching the students where
they are and propelling them forward

9. WHAT ARE PERFORMANCE LEARNING CENTERS®?
PLCs are small, non-traditional high schools geared toward
students who are not succeeding in the traditional school
setting. They create a business-like environment and
emphasize personal support and an intense academic
program anchored by an online instructional system and
project-based learning.
Performance Learning Centers work to focus students not
just on graduation, but life and education beyond high school.
Preparation for college and a career are the standards of
success for PLCs. PLC students are encouraged to start
actively planning their future and take the steps necessary to
make their plans a reality.

10. OUR NEW CCPLC
•
A three-way partnership between Dougherty County
S c h o o l S y s t e m , A l b a n y Te c h n i c a l C o l l e g e a n d
Communities In Schools – Albany/Dougherty
•
Designed to improve graduation rates, reduce
dropouts, and provide high school students, countywide, an accelerated path to graduation
•
Plus the potential to add college credit to the
academic progress of students while creating dual
e n r o l l m e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s a t A l b a n y Te c h .

11. CISAD – COLLEGE AND CAREER PLC
Our Programmatic Goals:
Serve high school students at-risk of dropping out of school
Intervene quickly with targeted services
Increase students’ chances of earning a high school
diploma
Prepare students for college and/or career
Provide substantial data to demonstrate positive outcomes

12. COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS – ALBANY/DOUGHERTY
Desired Outcomes:
• Increase high school graduation rate
• Increase on-time promotion to the next grade or on-tract
to graduate rates
• Increase credit accumulation and completion of core
courses
• Improve attendance rates
• Reduce behavioral and disciplinary problems

13. CISAD – KEY STRATEGIC PLAN ELEMENTS
Become TQS accredited by 4Q15
o Hire full-time ED
Attract 10 partners
o In-kind and monetary support
Raise awareness of CISAD’s critical role
o Breakfast, speaking engagements, marketing
Expand number of sites and site coordinators
o In all high schools by 2016

14. CISAD – OUR NEEDS
LOCAL FUNDING
 To help more students graduate
 Needed to match grants and allotments
 Required to meet TQS goal
LOCAL INVOLVEMENT
 To increase support and build advocacy
 To help expand the programming
 Needed to increase number of graduates