On Thursday, December 21st, Communities In Schools of the Nation’s Capital (CISNCAP) will host the 2nd Annual COMMUNITY WINTERLAND Holiday Party at Brookland Middle School. This festive event will celebrate the holiday season with 20 CISNCAP caseload students and 18 CISNCAP/Children’s Inc. sponsored students. The children will enjoy a pizza, punch, and cupcake feast and express their gratitude by writing “Thank You” cards and letters to their Children’s Inc. sponsors and other supporters. They will also spread holiday cheer by creating cards for the young residents of the Ronald McDonald House of Greater Washington, DC.
We are excited to announce that Mrs. Sharae Long, Sr. Director of People from Class Inc., will be our honored guest. Class Inc. has generously pledged to donate $1,000 in gift cards for our students. We also look forward to donating gift cards and sponsorships from our collaborative partner, Angel Tree.
“I believe it’s essential for my caseload students to understand the value of giving back and sharing joy with others, especially during the holiday season,” says Ms. LaTroy Bailey, CISNCAP/Brookland Middle School Coordinator.
Support CISNCAP by donating at Donate – Communities in Schools – Nation’s Capital (cisnationscapital.org).

Burrville Elementary Principal Dr. Chunita Pilgrim, DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson, and Adeola Lawal

What an amazing evening! A group of passionate and dedicated individuals came together to support DC students. The event recognized Dr. Chunita Pilgrim, Principal of Burrville Elementary School, who was awarded the Principal of the Year Award. Kim Lawal and Adeola Lawal accepted the Partner of the Year Award on behalf of the Children’s Gift Foundation.

Burrville Elementary School, also known as the Ville on the Hill, is located in Ward 7 and serves 278 students in grades PK3-5. According to the DCPS School Profiles Home website, the school’s PARCC Math Student Performance for the academic year 2022-23 is 22-23%.

CISNCAP has been in partnership with Burrville Elementary School since 2018. The relationship between CISNCAP and Burrville Elementary has been successful partly due to the close and trusting relationship that Principal Pilgrim created with her CISNCAP Site Coordinator, Asja Smith. Ms. Smith said, “Principal Pilgrim’s vision for Burrville is truly remarkable. She inspires and motivates everyone around her to become the best version of themselves. Under her leadership, the school has grown significantly each year, and it’s no surprise that the Ville on the Hill is on top. Her unwavering commitment to excellence and passion for education are truly inspiring.”

The Children’s Gift Foundation was also honored at the event. The Foundation has partnered with CISNCAP since 2004 and provides resources such as clothing, shoes, canned food, and hygiene products to students enrolled in our ten partner schools.

The Children’s Gift Foundation’s mission is to provide underserved, at-risk, and homeless children with new educational supplies, apparel, and other resources, free of charge from infanthood to age eighteen.

“The Foundation provides CISNCAP with essential resources that help students overcome barriers that impede their focus and success,” said Dr. Lewis. 

The Honorable DC Councilman Chairman Phil Mendelson opened the reception by sharing his excitement and reassurance that he was familiar with the critical needs of DC students and clearly understood how the partnership between CISNCAP, Burrville Elementary School, and the Children’s Gift Foundation all work seamlessly together to create a community of support for DC Students.

(Site Coordinator Phoebee Jean and Stanton Elementary School Principal Richardson)

At the end of the school year, Stanton Elementary School Site Coordinator Jovan Johnson identified a critical community need within the school: students need access to clean clothing. He noticed that many students needed help with their clothing at home or within their neighborhoods. Before transferring to CISNCAP Cardozo Education Campus, he encouraged the new CISNCAP Site Coordinator, Phoebe Jean, to work on this issue.

Phoebe assessed the school community and found that families often used public laundromats in Maryland (a few miles from Stanton Elementary School). The lack of clean uniforms has been a barrier for many students at Stanton Elementary School, and in collaboration with Principal Richardson, Phoebe, and Jovan devised a plan to address this crisis. Applying funds from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education for a Community School Incentive Initiative grant, Phoebe purchased a washer and dryer to be installed on-site. Now, there is a washing and drying facility available to students.

This initiative will benefit hundreds of students and their families. As a result, we expect that in-seat attendance will increase for students who previously missed school days due to being embarrassed about the lack of clean uniforms.

“Stanton Elementary School serves over 300 Students and Families in Washington, DC’s Ward 8 is a robust community full of promise yet plagued by challenges. Oftentimes, our community has limited access to vital resources that make everyday life a possibility. At Stanton, our hope is to engage families in a meaningful way as we build and strengthen our relationships and ties to the community. We know that having clean clothes is such an important part of starting your day on the right foot and feeling confident! We are so thankful to our Communities in Schools of the Nation’s Capital partners for their help in sponsoring our brand-new Laundry room! Now, we can do our part to eliminate a barrier that has historically kept children home from school and ensure that every scholar is their best self every day!”
– Principal Allen Richardson, Stanton Elementary School

As the CISNCAP Connected School Manager at Kramer Middle School in S.E., DC, I have observed that our students tend to be overlooked despite facing unique challenges outside of school daily. One of my caseload students, K.D., is in the 8th grade and is 13 years old. He loves football and aspires to be a high school and college student-athlete.

K.D. joined Communities In Schools of the Nation’s Capital (CISNCAP) as a self-referral and expressed interest in wanting a mentor. I was excited for him to be my mentee, and while building a relationship with him, he confided in me that he needed an adult he could trust to help him navigate challenges at school. I told him that I would be his mentor and that he could trust me to provide Social Emotional Learning (SEL) support.

I connected him with a tutor and counseling support service to address some of his barriers. Additionally, he is playing on the football team, which teaches him life skills. I conduct classroom push-ins and check-ins with him weekly to ensure he is part of my Life Skills group called “Man Time.” I also gave him advice on how to persevere despite adversity.

This school year has been going well for K.D. His attendance has been consistent, and his grades are good. K.D. feels he has access to resources such as Communities In Schools of the Nation’s Capital at his school. We are now working on identifying high schools that would fit him academically and athletically. I plan to connect him with some high school football coaches so that he can start visiting schools of interest.

Communities In Schools of the Nation’s Capital (CISNCAP) thanks Amazon and Communities In Schools of NVA for donating 3,000 school bags to our affiliate.  The bags are packed with a 12-piece pencil bag with 2 pencils, 2 pens, a pink eraser, a sharpener, a glue stick, crayons, soap, folder, notebook, ruler, and either tissues, wipes, or hand sanitizer.

CISNCAP serves 10 DCPS schools throughout the city in Wards 1, 5, 6, 7, and 8.  Our mission is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

On August 12^th, CISNCAP is partnering with East River Family Strengthening Collaborative (ERFSC) to host a Back to School event. Students from CISNCAP partner schools are welcome.

Communities In Schools of the Nation’s Capital awarded 2023 Many Hands $100,000 Impact Grant

Many Hands leverages the power of collective giving to support nonprofits serving and empowering Washington, DC area women, children, and families in socioeconomic need. Since 2004, including the more than $300,000 in grants we announce today, Many Hands has granted more than $2.8 million to 46 nonprofit organizations.

The mission of Communities in Schools of the Nation’s Capital (CISNCAP) is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. Incorporated in 2004, CISNCAP is the DC affiliate of the nation’s largest dropout prevention program, Communities in Schools, which has been successfully helping young people stay in school and transition to adulthood since 1977. During the 2022-23 school year, CISNCAP worked in ten DC public schools throughout Wards 5, 6, 7, and 8, reaching over 4,300 students and their families and providing intensive case management for more than 400 students.

Communities in Schools provides a unique model for putting students and families on a path to success. By placing dedicated staff members inside partner schools, CISNCAP is able to identify students at risk of dropping out. CISNCAP site coordinators work closely with school administrators to assess student needs, develop a support plan, and engage community partners and volunteers to address both academic and human service needs.

CISNCAP helps ensure that children feel safe and cared for and have secure access to shelter, food, clothing, and medical care. In addition, they support restorative justice programs, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) programs, after-school and lunchtime enrichment, family engagement, and resource clinics. The result is improved attendance, behavior, academic performance, retention rates, and graduation rates.

CISNCAP is excited to share the news that long-time Connected School Manager Monique Baker has been promoted to Program Director. Ms. Baker is a graduate of DC Public Schools and holds a master’s degree in social work from the Catholic University of America. Before becoming the Connected School Manager, she served as Site Coordinator for Communities in Schools for five years at the Cardozo Education Campus, located in Columbia Heights, the neighborhood in which she was raised and currently lives. Ms. Baker is a licensed practitioner with over a decade of experience in youth and family programs. She is dedicated to supporting the development of young people and the communities in which they live.

In her role as Program Director, Ms. Baker will oversee the successful implementation of the CIS Model across our partnering schools.  In addition, she will reestablish consistency, which was impacted by Covid-19 and the virtual enrollment across our school sites, and ensure the fidelity of our data collection and reporting. CISNCAP has a proven track record of effectiveness. Moving forward, we are pivoting toward leveraging existing resources to have a greater impact on the schools we serve and enhancing our feeder pattern structure. Executive Director Dr. Lewis said that Ms. Baker is the right person at the right time. We are coming out of a pandemic that has had devastating implications for our students and communities i.e. learning loss, isolation, and economic hardships.  Ms. Baker’s training as a Social Worker, experience, and passion for youth will position CISNCAP to have added impact and reach.