A kaleidoscope of butterflies cascaded across the wall of the Susquehanna Township Middle School, alighting to form the word “HOPE.” The paper butterflies shared experiences of grief as well as messages of hope.
Children in each classroom penned a message on their butterflies in a campaign organized by the Communities in Schools site director, who used the Highmark Caring Place symbol to address children’s grief following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was so touching,” Central PA Program Director Angelica DeSantiago said. “It was for anybody to see, saying, ‘Hey, I’m here for you.’ ”
This is just one of many schoolwide projects that Communities in Schools conducts in its member schools. Others include art and history projects, teacher appreciation activities, open gym events, movies, bingo, escape boxes, ice cream Fridays, anti-bullying Unity Day and many more.
Site coordinators organize most of these events, but some are suggested by and even run by students.
Charles Stevens, the site coordinator at Central Dauphin East Middle School, specifically noted a soccer game suggested by a student who struggled socially.
“We had 70 kids sign up, and he became the superstar of the game,” Stevens said. “He became the team captain, and scored a goal at the end.”
Gap Filler
The most difficult thing for any project, organization or group can be identifying the final piece of a puzzle that makes it complete.
When it comes to education, Communities in Schools, a nationwide organization, exists to complete a framework of care for school students. It is the gap-filler. The nonprofit has affiliates in 26 states, including Pennsylvania, with the statewide and central PA office located in Harrisburg.
Locally, CISPA has assisted in Susquehanna Township’s elementary and middle schools for the past few years and recently expanded into the high school. In the Central Dauphin School District, CISPA works at Swatara Middle School, CD East Middle School and CD East High School.
CISPA site coordinators have offices in the schools they serve, but they are not school staff, counselors or social workers. Instead, they are the bridge between teachers and other school staff. This might include hosting lunches for displaced students, holding schoolwide anti-bullying events, providing much-needed school supplies or hygiene products or creating safe spaces.
Each CISPA site coordinator also takes on a one-on-one caseload of about 10% of the school’s population, meeting regularly to help with everything from attendance issues to fitting in to issues at home. They may provide help to parents, as well.
Susquehanna Township Superintendent Dr. Tamara Willis had worked with CIS in her previous schools in York and Steelton. So, it was an easy decision to invite them into Susquehanna Township, where she noted that the population is diverse not only by ethnicity, but also by socioeconomic status.
“Our families have a variety of needs,” she said.
Support Network
CISPA supports students through a three-tiered framework.
Tier 1 offers schoolwide support through community-building events. Tier 2 provides support to smaller groups of students who share a common need. Tier 3 offers individual attention for students who require one-on-one help.
Full-time site coordinators are available year-round throughout the school day and often before and after.
“Our purpose is to integrate into the school building and remove non-academic barriers— the things that prevent students from showing up to school ready to learn,” said Jessica Knapp, president and state director for CIS of Pennsylvania.
These barriers might include physical health, mental health, behavior, attendance, homelessness, hunger and other issues.
At Susquehanna Township Middle School, a Nepali student with limited English was connected with the CISPA coordinator in what became a Tier 2 program. Over time, other Nepali students joined the conversation, asking if they also could have lunch with the site coordinator, DeSantiago.
As a result, a “lunch bunch” was born to offer a safe space for students who were not only new to the school but new to the country. Students shared food, catching the interest of other students who passed by and asked to join, too.
“They could connect, and they formed their own little network in the middle school that they wouldn’t have had without that coordinator,” Willis noted. “Having that dedicated person who’s there to say, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ and to check in with students. It really allowed them to connect and create friendships that they otherwise would not have had.”
That boost, Willis noted, gave the girls the confidence to become leaders for other building-wide events, turning the girls who needed support into those offering the support.
Partnerships
School districts pay CISPA to have site coordinators. At Susquehanna Township, the Hanna Foundation funded the first coordinator by soliciting private grants and donations and by working with CISPA to find and apply for other grants. Over time, the district has absorbed the cost.
“We work with school districts to figure out how to cover the costs,” Knapp said.
Money comes from many sources, including COVID relief dollars, state Title 1 and Title 4 funds, 21st Century Community Learning grants, and fundraising with the help of CIS staff. CIS, for instance, received a four-year grant to support rural work in Cambria County. It also partners with United Way affiliates, such as the United Way of Lebanon County, which funded the program in Lebanon schools for the first three years.
Locally, CISPA has secured funding from many businesses and organizations, including UPMC Pinnacle Foundation, McCormick Foundation, Big Lots Foundation, Hershey Company, Walmart, Kunkel Foundation, P&C Foundation, Stabler Foundation, AT&T, PP&L and others.
CISPA also supports teachers.
For instance, Rebeca Chlebnikow, then site director at Sarah Lindemuth Elementary School in Susquehanna Township (she’s now central PA program manager), organized a monthlong teacher appreciation that included going into classrooms to give teachers breaks and student reflections on their relationships with teachers.
“In today’s society, we expect so much of the teachers,” DeSantiago said. “Class sizes are doubled, behaviors are going up. We can be that neutral party and still bring everybody together.”
Jenn Braun, site coordinator at Thomas Holtzman Elementary School in Susquehanna Township, agrees.
“I just think it’s the coolest organization because we’re just touching so many kids,” she said. “I have kids I call my adopted kids because they aren’t on my caseload. They come and tell me what’s going on. It speaks volumes of the work I’m able to do. I can reach not just a select group of kids, but the whole school.”
Communities in Schools PA is located at 234 State St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.cisofpa.org.
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