The educational nonprofit served more than 143,000 students on 163 campuses in six school districts and Lone Star College
(HOUSTON, January 15, 2025) – Educational nonprofit Communities In Schools of Houston (CIS) served 143,054 students on 163 campuses in six school districts, including 16 Lone Star College campuses, according to its 2023-2024 annual report that was just released. Of note, 41,119 students received CIS intervention walk-in services, while 8,997 students were served through CIS intensive case-management services, for a total of 356,073 hours of campus-based intervention services.
Communities In Schools of Houston exists to empower every student, regardless of race, zip code or socioeconomic status, to realize their potential in school and beyond, using evidence-based and campus-based integrated student supports. To support this mission, CIS places at least one full-time Student Support Manager on each partner campus to deliver direct services and to connect students and families with needed community resources. In 2023-2024, CIS collaborated with more than 300 partner agencies to help students overcome barriers to success and connect to needed resources.
“For 46 years, CIS has worked to provide targeted services that help students stay in school, graduate on time and maximize their potential for success now and in the future,” says Lisa Descant, CEO of Communities In Schools of Houston. “We believe the 2023-2024 school year wasn’t just successful ‘by the numbers,’ but by the personal stories of lives affected by our work, including students, parents and guardians. Our programming positively impacted many lives through individual counseling, campus-wide events, provision of resources, the Mental Health Initiative (MHI) and our workforce readiness initiatives.”
In the 2023-2024 school year, the overwhelming majority of students in Communities In Schools’ programs throughout the Greater Houston area experienced successful outcomes, including:
- 99 percent of students in grades 7-12 stayed in school
- 97 percent of students were promoted to the next grade level
- 97 percent of high school seniors graduated
- 91 percent of students showed marked improvement in academics, attendance and/or behavior
- 71 percent rate of reenrollment, transfer and graduation for CIS college students, which is significantly higher than the national average.
Although CIS of Houston’s focus is on school campuses, CIS of Houston conducted 1,115 home visits to promote family engagement, attendance and provide support, while providing 334,246 agency referrals to students and their parents to ensure they receive essential support. Additionally, CIS handled more than 5,100 crisis situations affecting CIS students.
Highlights from the 2023-2024 year for CIS include:
- Communities In Schools of Houston’s workforce readiness programming presented the annual CIS Job Readiness Seminar, where CIS high school students engage in immersive activities that teach interview skills and professionalism. They also learn about various internship and externship opportunities available through CIS and our partners such as the Behavioral Health Workforce Recruitment Education & Development Initiative, the CIS Patient Care Assistant internship program with Houston Methodist Hospital and Smithwood Medical Institute, the Lazarus Energy Empowerment Program (LEEP), and the CIS/Houston Bar Association Legal Internship program. Houston Methodist expanded externships to include college students.
- The CIS Dental Care Program, in partnership with UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry, offered CIS students free preventative and restorative dental care and oral health presentations. This included emergency restorative care, dental cleaning, X-rays, fluoride treatment and sealants. The School’s Give Kids a Smile Day donated free dental healthcare to underserved children in the Houston community.
- Scholarship awards from the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) – Gulf Coast Section (GCS) grew from three to four this year, with $12,000 awarded to four female students for four years of college. Additionally, CIS added scholarships from two new partners, Modify and the Conely Foundation.
Descant notes that CIS of Houston is the largest provider of mental health services in schools in Harris County through the organization’s Mental Health Initiative. Through this program, more than 28,000 hours of mental health services were provided by CIS and/or partner mental health agencies across 107 CIS campuses.
CIS of Houston licensed mental health professionals provided 8,026 students with mental health services while 672 students were served through partnerships with local mental health agencies. “The need for student mental health services on campuses continues to increase year over year. Today, through our expanded in-person services, including the CIS Mobile Mental Health team, we are equipped to proactively address mental health issues prior to a crisis,” says Descant.
In the past fiscal year, CIS of Houston raised more than $9.9 million from private funding sources, which includes support from corporations, foundations, individuals, contracts, and in-kind donations. The organization is on solid financial footing due to the generous support of donors and in-kind service providers.
You can find a copy of the 2023-2024 CIS of Houston annual report on the website, as well as learn about CIS programs, at www.cishouston.org.
