Greater Harrisburg's Community Magazine

Dropout Warriors: At CISPA, the offices may be new, but the mission remains unchanged.

TheBurg_doing_good“Good space can bring energy to people,” says Nathan Mains.

“It is certainly an improvement,” adds Jane Hess, indicating her understatement with a smile.

They’re talking about the brand new office space for Community in Schools Pennsylvania (CISPA), where Mains serves as president and director and Hess as executive director, Capital Region.

Incorporating repurposed wood, chic urban concrete architectural elements and strategic lighting, the office is a far cry from the cubicles and florescent ceiling lights of the organization’s former downtown home.

We’re in the meeting room of the Front Street building, which has a gorgeous view of the Susquehanna River. Mains and Hess believe the new office, which opened April 29, will help the organization in its mission—reducing the too-high dropout rate of the state’s schoolchildren.

“We want our employees to want to come to work in the morning,” says Mains. “The folks who work here could go anywhere, they are all talented. So, if we are going to retain our quality people, we have to consider the work environment.”

Beyond providing comfortable workspace for the organization, the new office enfolds powerful networking technology that lets Mains easily coordinate with the six service regions across Pennsylvania under his watch. And, as he points out, a working knowledge of network technology allowed him to lower the costs of installation and save money in the long run by limiting the expense of transportation and printing.

Education Is the Key

Mains has spent more than 20 years working in the non-profit sector. The majority of his experience comes from work within the health industry. In his previous positions, Mains worked to fundraise for worthy causes, such as the March of Dimes and the American Lung Association, and increase awareness concerning the importance of such work.

Mains also is committed to Harrisburg. He has called the city home since graduating from Lebanon Valley College. Upon seeing an exciting new opportunity to do important work in his adoptive home, Mains made the natural transition from health to education.

As we talk, I am struck by Mains’ ability to represent the importance of CISPA’s mission while simultaneously being affable. On a number of occasions, our conversation was sidetracked as he asked me about my own experiences within education.

“Education is the key to everything,” says Mains. “We want to bring about change for the kids that we serve. It’s not just the important work that we do in the schools, but we also have to look at policy changes that need to occur, and we have to expand awareness about the importance of keeping kids in school.”

CISPA is part of the larger Community in Schools network, which is the nation’s largest dropout prevention organization. When schools (such as John Harris High School) request assistance from CISPA, a site coordinator is assigned to the school. Tasked with evaluating the diverse needs of at-risk students, coordinators develop an action plan, put together a team and then leverage funds and material support from various sources to provide students with the attention that they need to stay in school.

As Hess states, “it is important to find the gaps, to see how student needs are not being met. For each individual student, these gaps can be different. Some need to be connected with food banks, others English language tutors. Sometimes, we coordinate services for the student’s entire family by setting up parenting classes or organizing transportation. Other times, helping a student is as easy as providing him or her with an alarm clock.”

I met separately with Caryn Watson, state Rep. Patty Kim’s legislative assistant, who formerly served as the site coordinator for John Harris High School.

“Our job was to come up with plans for individuals and for the community,” says Watson.

Watson maintained a caseload of students with whom she worked regularly. This involved developing an “Individualized Service Plan,” which addressed the specific problems that certain students faced. She also coordinated with the school’s faculty and counseling staff to make sure CISPA programming was as effective as possible. Additionally, she helped to develop school-wide programs. Her team offered FAFSA and college application workshops, along with SAT test preparation. Furthermore, Watson oversaw service learning projects.

“We wanted to produce a ‘Survival Guide’ for incoming ninth-graders. We were able to create a pamphlet and a video that focus on what it takes to graduate. Both are still being used by the high school when new students arrive in the fall.”

Love for Their Work

“Every day is different, and I think that’s the appeal,” says Mains. “You can find yourself one day in a school, chatting with some of the kids. The next day, you find yourself in a meeting with high-level donors, business people and government officials, talking about the importance of the issue. Then, the next day, I get the opportunity to talk to a reporter.”

A passion for education is certainly a job requirement for Mains and Hess. Funding is always tight, and the availability of a single grant can determine if CISPA can maintain a presence in a school or not. Such is the case here in Harrisburg. A last-minute funding cut meant that a CISPA program had to be shut down at John Harris. Discouraged but not defeated, Hess is determined to return there.

“We are currently waiting to hear about our most recent grant application,” says Hess. “Hopefully, we can use that funding to re-enter Harrisburg schools.”

Despite the excitement she feels about the opening of the new office, Hess realizes what CISPA’s real purpose is. Without the funding necessary for the implementation of CISPA’s programs, the work that began in the Harrisburg’s schools cannot be resumed. She knows that attractive meeting rooms and networking technology mean little while students in the city continue to drop out.

For Mains, Hess and everyone else at CISPA, getting students to don a cap and gown at graduation is the ultimate prize.

 

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