Our Community

Communities In Schools KCK/Wyandotte County

NOTE: The following history was copied directly from their website, Communities In Schools KCK/Wyandotte County

Communities in Schools of KCK/Wyandotte County (formerly known as School Linked Services of Wyandotte County, Inc.) is a nonprofit organization working in partnership with the Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools to improve student performance. The organization was born out of the Wyandotte County Citizens Planning Committee in 1995. At that time conversations between the school district, Kauffman Foundation, parents and providers in the community focused on prevention of dropouts and the empowerment of students and their community. The planning group recognized the match between their objectives and those of the Communities In Schools philosophy. As a result of this planning participants agreed on the need for a school linked services initiative. With support from the Children's Trust Fund and Kauffman Foundation the agency was incorporated as School Linked Services of Wyandotte County, Inc. in 1998. It became a national affiliate of Communities in Schools in the Fall of 2007 becoming Communities In Schools of KCK/Wyandotte County. CIS believes all children can learn but that many times community and family problems interfere with their ability to succeed in school.

CIS champions the connection of needed community resources with schools to help young people successfully learn, stay in school and prepare for life. CIS strives to link youth and families with community resources to ensure that children have a safe place to learn and grow, comprehensive health care, caring relationships with adults and marketable skills upon graduation. CIS recruits social service agencies, hospitals, universities and colleges in addition to other organizations to place staff in the schools where children and families are more likely to use them. This functional approach to meeting the needs at the school sites with a myriad of services and programs serves the entire student body and their families. These linkages allow for a broad array of services offered to the families of children of all ages consistently and over time. This results in continual improvement of overall student performance, family support and community involvement.

CIS is not a program, it is a unique way of providing children the supportive relationships they need and deserve to stay in school and lead productive lives.

Adopt a School

Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools, in cooperation with Communities In Schools KCK/Wyandotte County (formerly School Linked Services), has implemented the Adopt-A-School initiative, which focuses on partnering area schools with churches to foster cultural enrichment, academic enhancement, career awareness and much more.

To learn more about the adopt a school program, read this article, from the Everyday Democracy (formerly Study Circles Resource Center)