CIS By the Numbers
Since the start of the 2010-2011 school year, exciting things are happening; CIS of Kalamazoo has had a number of occasions to shine in the National spotlight…
1) A documentary on the Communities In Schools national organization is soon to be released! The documentary film crew visited Kalamazoo over the summer. Rumored to have “made the cut” are over 8 of our own Kalamazooans: CIS Board Members Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice and Mayor Bobby Hopewell, CIS partners Anne Lipsey of Loaves & Fishes and Valerie Denghel of First Day Shoe Fund, CIS staff Donna Carroll and Site Coordinator Deb Yarbrough, and several KPS students!
The National office plans to release the documentary first to those CIS affiliates—Kalamazoo, Atlanta (Georgia), Charlotte (North Carolina), Los Angeles (California) and Spokane (Washington)—who participated in the making of this film. When we have more details we will let you know. (Stay in touch with us on this and other important updates by checking out our Facebook page here.
Photo: CIS Director of Health Initiatives, Donna Carroll, is filmed by the National CIS film crew during the summer.
2) Martha Serio, CIS Site Coordinator at Spring Valley Center for Exploration was selected by National CIS to participate in on-line professional development that will lead to a national certification for site coordinators. Martha was among a further select group of 40 site coordinators that were flown to Washington, DC (where National CIS office resides) to provide feedback on the certification pilot. Once the program has been perfected, it is National’s intent to make certification available throughout the CIS network. Says Martha, "It was an amazing experience to have the opportunity to meet with Site Coordinators from many different states. We were able to share experiences and knowledge with each other. Many of us made new friendships and have continued to stay in touch. It was also great to meet employees from the National Office and gain knowledge and advice from them as well."
3) Bethany Clay, CIS Quality & Evaluation Coordinator, has been selected by National CIS to be the one lone “SLUG” for Michigan. As a SLUG (this stands for State level Users Group) Bethany provides technical assistance on the CIS Data Management System to the five other CIS affiliates throughout Michigan. In September, she flew to the National office and received additional training, along with other SLUGs from across the country.
4) Deborah Yarbrough, CIS Site Coordinator at Edison Environmental Science Academy is one of five individuals to receive a Communities In Schools Unsung Heroes Awards. Nominated by CIS Executive Director Pam Kingery, this prestigious award is given to select individuals throughout the country who bring to life CIS’ core values. The last time these awards were presented was in 2007. Surrounded by her CIS peers at a professional development training held at Douglass Community Association, Deborah first learned of this honor as Pam Kingery read aloud a letter of congratulations from CIS President, Daniel Cardinali: “…it is site coordinators like you who personally connect with the kids every day, and prove that it is indeed people, and their unique gift of building life-giving relationships with kids, that transform lives. Members of our national staff and board of directors were moved by the persistence and dedication with which you face the challenge of your job…”
Deborah Yarbrough and CIS Executive Director Pam Kingery were both flown to Washington D.C. on September 23, 2010 where Deborah was honored with the prestigious Unsung Hero Award.
Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice and Congressman Fred Upton, along with others attended the event. Thanks to the support of AT&T Deborah received $1,000 for Edison school as part of the award.
To read the speech Deborah gave on the steps of Capital Hill, click here. To read Kalamazoo Gazette coverage of the event, click here.
Photo (left to right): Pam Kingery, Deb Yarbrough, and Dr. Rice.
5) In September, Jesse Herron, Director of Parent Engagement, along with Parent Leaders Sherrod Brown (King Westwood) and Kirsten Hairston (Hillside) and Elissa Kerr, CIS Site Coordinator at King Westwood, attended the National Summit on Family, School, and Community Engagement. They joined forces with over 300 individuals from across the nation to discuss a national strategy to support meaningful family engagement. "The ideas we generated and galvanized around at this summit should resonate with policymakers," said Jesse. "It was great to be a part of this and to meet Daniel Cardinali, National CIS President."
Photo: It’s not everyday you get your picture taken with the national boss, so even though it’s fuzzy, we’re using it! From left, Kirsten Hairston, Elissa Kerr, CIS President Dan Cardinali, Sherrod Brown, and Jesse Heron.
6) Carolyn H. Williams, CIS Board member represented our Kalamazoo affiliate recently at the 2010 State Director’s Meeting. As one of 35 leaders from 12 states and the national office who came together in Arlington, Virginia, Carolyn, a retired Family Court Judge found the experience to be energizing. “It was informative to learn more about the national perspective and consider how ideas that were shared can be locally applied to help our State Office Development Consultant and our Kalamazoo affiliate to do a stellar job for our kids.”