Success Stories

A 17-year-old student had taken on immense responsibility: marrying to emancipate herself from her mother and then gaining custody of her 4-year-old sister after the mother lost parental rights. The weight of it all led her to consider dropping out of school to focus entirely on caring for her sibling. With the school social worker, Communities In Schools intervened decisively. We successfully enrolled the younger sister in CHOICES pre-K for early education and reliable dayti

Recently, our Communities In Schools Site Coordinator learned that one of our school families might be staying in a local hotel. Initial attempts to reach the mother failed—her phone had been shut off. Undeterred, the coordinator searched social media, located her profile, and reconnected to get an updated number. What emerged was a heartbreaking cascade of hardships: the mother had lost her job, totaled her only vehicle in an accident, faced multiple hospitalizations, had ut

At Van Elementary School, one name is spoken with deep appreciation and gratitude—our exceptional Communities In Schools Coordinator. His daily presence on campus is far more than a job; it’s a true lifeline for students, staff, and families alike. Every morning, long before the first bell, he’s already there—greeting children with a warm smile, helping a student find a winter coat, or quietly checking in on a family facing hardship. He meets every child exactly where they ar

Over the holiday season, a family at our school lost much of their home to a severe fire. The principals quickly alerted me to the emergency and asked me to reach out. What I learned was heartbreaking: the children were temporarily staying with friends, the family had no insurance and no funds for repairs, and the guardians were sleeping in their truck to stay close by. Drawing on my knowledge of community resources, I immediately connected the family with a local non-profit

At West Side Middle School, Communities In Schools launched “Saturday Wash Days” in our Student Support Center, opening the building on weekends so students and families can access free laundry facilities, supplies, and a safe, welcoming space to handle this essential need. One family faced significant barriers: they lacked transportation and couldn’t bring their laundry to school. For several weeks, the Family Support Worker and I picked up their laundry from home, washed an

A dedicated Communities In Schools team member successfully kept two separate families from remaining on the streets and helped them secure permanent housing. While the families faced homelessness, she quickly arranged temporary safe places to stay and ensured the children attended school consistently by personally providing transportation by picking them up and dropping them off before and after school until reliable bus services could be established. She worked closely with

One experience that continues to touch me deeply involved collaborating with another CIS Site Coordinator to support a set of siblings experiencing housing instability. The family qualified for McKinney-Vento services, and after months of dedicated advocacy, resource coordination, and persistence, we successfully secured them permanent housing—a major milestone on its own. The truly unforgettable moment came on move-in day. As we filled the apartment with furniture and essent

A senior who had struggled with extreme chronic absenteeism—missing 86 days freshman year, 72 sophomore year, and 38 junior year (when she first joined CIS)—barely passed classes and rarely attended. This year, we set a shared goal to end the pattern of chronic absence. With steady support, she’s now missed only 14 days with just 15 left in her senior year, is passing all classes, and has applied to college—a huge leap forward. A second-year sophomore arrived distrustful, fre

In third grade, one student stood out for all the wrong reasons: chronically absent, often falling asleep in class, rarely completing work, and completely closed off during our one-on-one meetings. Despite these challenges, his intelligence and creativity shone through—he had tremendous potential waiting to be unlocked. His father was equally guarded and distrustful, making progress feel impossible. Each meeting, I tried a new gentle approach, and in the hallways I consistent

Last school year, a freshman was struggling with poor attendance, failing multiple classes, and a broken laptop that made completing assignments nearly impossible. Communities In Schools arranged for the repair using county funds, removing a key barrier to learning—even though one guidance counselor felt the family didn’t “need” the help. Determined to turn things around, the student attended summer school to recover credits and set a clear goal: attend every class and pass a

One student was quietly struggling in the classroom—often squinting at the board, falling behind in reading, and showing declining grades. During a routine school vision screening, she failed the test, revealing a potential issue that had gone unnoticed. This child had never  visited an eye doctor before. With no family transportation or resources to follow up, she might have continued without care. That's where Communities In Schools WV stepped in: our site coordinator arran