Communities In Schools (CIS) of Houston announces the expansion of its student support services for the Houston Independent School District (HISD) RISE Strong initiative to all 24 campuses targeted for improvement by the district. Of these campuses 19 are new to CIS for the 2022-23 school year, bringing the total number of HISD campuses served by CIS to 56 campuses.

RISE (Redesign, Innovate, Support, Empower), is a bold strategic plan under HISD Superintendent Millard House II to measurably improve underserved and underperforming campuses that have received a D or F rating. As part of the initiative, these RISE campuses are to receive additional supports such as CIS.

The campus-based CIS staff provides direct services within HISD schools in partnership with teachers and family members to help address the academic and non-academic needs of students. CIS provides students with supportive guidance and counseling and works with school personnel and local service providers to ensure delivery of critical resources, such as food, housing, healthcare, mental health services and access to technology, thus allowing students (and educators) to focus on academics.

“Our goal is to honor the assets and strengths that were pre-existing and provide the support needed to accelerate and advance the transformation of our struggling campuses by implementing the RISE cohort to better serve our students and their families in the quest for academic excellence,” said Dr. Denise Watts, HISD Chief of Schools. “We will equip our RISE schools with outstanding staff and resources to dramatically improve outcomes. The services of our partner, CIS of Houston, are critical in changing the trajectory of student’s lives with its proven model of intervention and support.”

“CIS of Houston is honored to be a part of HISD’s RISE Strong initiative, which reinforces our mission to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve success in life,” says Lisa Descant, CIS of Houston CEO. “Through our comprehensive student support model, our students have achieved excellent outcomes in persisting in school, promoting to the next grade and graduating from high school. It does take a village, and our CIS campus-based specialists could not do it without the leadership of Supt. House and the dedicated professionals at each HISD school we serve.”

Key components of the RISE Strong initiative include:

• Financial incentives for teachers and school leaders
• High-quality curriculum materials and coaching for teachers
• After-school enrichment for all students with programming, transportation and evening meals
• Additional staffing allocations to support transformation work (assistant principals, counselors, wraparound specialists, instructional coaches, CIS professionals)

The 19 new RISE schools for Communities In Schools of Houston in 2022-23 are:

• Ashford Elementary School
• C. Martinez Elementary School
• Fleming Middle School
• Highland Heights Elementary School
• Isaacs Elementary School
• Marshall Elementary School
• Northline Elementary School
• Osborne Elementary School
• Patrick Henry Middle School
• Phyllis Wheatley High School
• Robinson Elementary School
• Rucker Elementary School
• Seguin Elementary School
• Smith Elementary School
• Sugar Grove Academy
• Thomas Middle School
• Whidby Elementary School
• Williams Middle School
• Young Elementary School

CIS of Houston is already currently established on these five RISE campuses: Attucks Middle School, Deady Middle School, Edison Middle School, Key Middle School and North Forest High School.

In addition to serving HISD schools, CIS of Houston is embedded on campuses across Aldine ISD, Alief ISD, Fort Bend ISD, Spring ISD, Spring Branch ISD, Lone Star College, and Texas Connections Academy-Houston, totaling 173.

For more information about Communities In Schools of Houston, please visit www.cishouston.org.