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Communities in Schools of Appalachian Highlands tells Washington County board it case-manages 763 local students
Summary
Communities in Schools of Appalachian Highlands (CIS) briefed the Washington County School Board on its local work: a coordinator in every Washington County school, case management for 763 students this year and broader regional operations covering 78 schools across 13 divisions.
The Washington County School Board on Tuesday heard a presentation from Communities in Schools (CIS) of Appalachian Highlands describing the nonprofit’s role in local schools and its measurable caseload this year.
Chase Stewart, executive director of Communities in Schools of Appalachian Highlands, told the board CIS now “is currently serving 78 schools across 13 school divisions” and that, in Washington County specifically, coordinators are providing one-on-one case management for 763 students during the current school year.
Why it matters: Board members said the individualized supports CIS provides—attendance work, social-emotional help, family engagement and connections to community resources—fill gaps that teachers and principals cannot always address during the school day. Board members and the superintendent thanked CIS for its partnership and asked the group to return with continued updates.
Stewart and other CIS staff described the organization’s local model and metrics. CIS places a site coordinator in each Washington County school and uses case management to set student goals around attendance, behavior, course performance or social-emotional learning. Stewart said their regional affiliate estimates a broader caseload of roughly 3,800 individually supported students across their service area and supports about 28,000 students at the school level through whole-school programming.
Kirsten Dillo, a student support coordinator who works in Washington County schools, told the board several short case histories showing how CIS intervention helped students secure housing, attend regularly and graduate. She described services including food and hygiene assistance, help securing housing and access to after-school care, as well as on-site calm-down spaces and mentoring that let students remain in school and return to class more consistently.
Board members pressed for detail about which grades receive the bulk of case management and were told the distribution follows the size and needs of each school; CIS staff said their guideline is commonly to case-manage roughly 10% of a school’s population but that local needs drive priorities.
The presentation also outlined the four pillars of the community schools model the organization follows: integrated student supports, active family and community engagement, expanded learning time and collaborative leadership and practices. CIS representatives said Washington County is their largest single district in the region and that their growth has been rapid since 2018.
Board members said they would invite CIS back for future updates and thanked coordinators for their work in the buildings.
Ending: CIS asked for continued partnership and local support; the board indicated it would continue the relationship and plan follow-up reporting to monitor outcomes and needs.
