CIS reported (on the basis of data collected internally) that at the end of the 2008-09 school year, 91 percent of students receiving its services and monitored for promotion risk advanced to the next grade; 84 percent of monitored seniors graduated; and 97 percent of students monitored as potential dropouts remained in school.

In October 2010, an independent evaluator, ICF International, completed a multi-part, five-year evaluation of the CIS program that included a quasi-experimental school-level study and three youth-level randomized controlled trials. These yielded positive findings with regard to grades and attendance and, taken together, suggested that youth may benefit from the comprehensive CIS model (Levels I and II) and from the Level II services alone.  CIS is committed to further evaluation and expected to achieve demonstrated effectiveness by 2014.

EMCF has approved a three-year investment in Communities in Schools (CIS), with a first-year award of $2.25 million, to support its expansion to an estimated 66 new schools in three states. Awards in years two and three, which are contingent on grantee performance and renewal of federal SIF funding, will provide up to $3.75 million, for an overall investment of up to $6 million over three years.

For information on what this grant will support, see Details of 2012-2014 Investment.

To learn more about Communities in Schools, see www.communitiesinschools.org.