Nathaniel “Junior” Session, like so many young people, was looking for some guidance, a road map to help him navigate to a better place in life.
Then he found an entire community of support, Communities In Schools of Greater Tarrant County (CISTC), a local affiliate of a national nonprofit network dedicated to helping students stay on track by overcoming barriers to success caused by poverty, hunger, lack of transportation, access to medical and dental services, and mental health needs.
Session, then a senior at Lake Worth High School, first met his CISTC social worker Kimeeka Brown in the seventh grade. Brown had heard that he, his mom and siblings had found themselves homeless after Junior’s father walked out. She sprang into action and helped the family get back on their feet.
Brown soon established a close relationship with Junior and his mom, even helping to secure two pairs of basketball shoes, which Junior needed to make the school team.
“Junior would always come to me and ask, ‘Why, Ms. Brown? Why are you so nice to me?’” Brown said. “And I would say to him ‘Because sometimes good things need to happen to good people.’ Junior and his family needed a hand up, not a hand out.”
During Session’s freshman year, his mother was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. Brown and Morgan Eary, the CISTC social worker who started working with Session when he entered Lake Worth High School, were at the hospital with him when his mother passed.
“At the hospital, his mother took us both aside and asked us to take care of him,” Brown recalled. “Her dying wish was to entrust us with her son.”
Last May, Session graduated high school with a 3.8 GPA. He is now attending Bethany College on a scholarship to play football.
“He is regarded as a leader among his peers and is fiercely independent and self-reliant,” CISTC Executive Director Lindsey Garner said. “Imagine if Brown and Eary were not there to surround Junior with support when no one else had? They were able to go behind the scenes to assess his unique needs and provide him the support he needed to succeed.”
Brought to Tarrant County in 1992 by a local United Way stay-in-school task force, the nonprofit CISTC places licensed social workers, case managers and mental health counselors directly inside schools in Tarrant, Johnson, Parker and Hood counties and surrounds students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.
“Every year, thousands of Texas high school students drop out of school. For academic year 2020-2021, that number was nearly 39,000, as reported by the Texas Education Agency,” noted Garner. “The reasons are complex, but research suggests students who don’t finish school are three times more likely to be unemployed. Dropouts are also more likely to be incarcerated, become a single parent or receive government assistance.”
By connecting students with qualified, caring adults, CISTC can create individualized case management plans to address needs by connecting families with resources, such as food, clothing, rent and utility assistance, transportation to services, and mental health counseling. Services are available on 71 campuses, with a collective enrollment of 47,053 students.
Social workers are assigned to provide one-on-one support for children and teens deemed at risk for not completing their education. For the 2022-23 school year, Communities In Schools anticipates serving more than 4,500 at-risk students.
CISTC is one of more than 200 Communities In Schools affiliates nationwide. In Tarrant County, it is guided by a 25-person board of directors and partially funded by school fees. The remainder of funding comes from government grants and private philanthropic giving, including support from United Way of Tarrant County.
CISTC reported the following results, as verified by the Texas Education Association for the 2021-22 school year:
- 94% improvement in grades among students served
- 95% improved behavior
- 76% improved attendance
- 97% promoted to next grade
- 99% graduation rate
- 99% stay-in-school rate
“The vast majority of students served by Communities In Schools are low-income students in Pre-K through 12th grade, who are from traditionally underserved communities of color and have been identified as at-risk of someday dropping out of school based on state-defined criteria,” Garner said. “In other words, Communities In Schools serves students who face significant challenges and are least likely to make it across the graduation stage.”
Garner cited a recent study by Child Trends Research which found that white children were more likely than black children (96% vs. 89%), who in turn were more likely than Hispanic children (73%), to have a caring adult in their lives. Furthermore, the study found that children from more affluent families were more likely to have a caring adult than those from less affluent families (95% vs. 82%).
She also noted that research shows children with a caring adult were:
- 73% more likely to volunteer.
- 11% more likely to stay calm and controlled in difficult situations.
- 10% more likely to show interest in learning or participate in after-school activities.
- 28% less likely to feel sad or depressed.
- 21% less likely to have been bullied in the past month.
Garner added that another study by the Search Institute found that young people with developmental relationships with caring adults are:
- 21 times more likely to report that they are able to manage their emotions.
- 13 times more likely to report that they know how to persevere through difficulty.
- Nine times more likely to report they have a strong sense of purpose than peers who could not identify a caring adult in their life.
Garner said placing licensed social workers directly inside schools ensures that students receive the support they need by eliminating the need for transportation and ensuring services are provided at times and locations convenient for the student.
Garner said the most common challenges facing students helped by CISTC include lacking basic necessities, such as food and clothing, and struggles with housing insecurity. Additionally, in the aftermath of COVID, there’s been an increase of rising mental health struggles and outcries for help among students.
“Students who are economically disadvantaged often struggle to envision a brighter future for themselves, such as a life of self-sufficiency, post-secondary education, vocation, or career,” she said.
CISTC addresses this by working with students of all ages to set goals for the future, bringing in speakers, hosting career days, and providing student shadow events at local colleges and universities.
CISTC also makes home visits and works closely with families to identify needs, which often impact the entire family. They partner with more than 80 local service agencies to provide resources for students and families, such as rent or utility assistance, food, clothing, medical or dental care, and much more.
Garner said the local business community should note the economic impact of investing in programs like CISTC. More high school graduates mean more jobs, more spending and investments, more tax revenue, more home and auto sales, more post-secondary degrees, less crime and a decrease in health care costs.
According to the Alliance for Excellent Education, increasing the local graduation rate to even 90% could mean an additional:
- $27 million in home sales.
- $2.3 million in auto sales.
- $2.8 million in federal tax revenue.
- $16.6 increase of in earnings.
- $13.5 million increase in spending.
- $160 million savings in healthcare costs.
“Additionally, industries concerned about gaps in skilled workers should look no further than our local high schools, to the future graduates who are exploring opportunities to gain skills, learn trades, secure apprenticeships and identify future vocational opportunities,” Garner said. “Communities In Schools seeks partnerships with employers interested in connecting with students and sharing future pathways to success.”
Examples of how local businesses are supporting CISTC efforts include:
- Charles Schwab is a longtime partner for the holiday meal bag drive. This year, CISTC will pack 3,000 bags to distribute to insecure students and families. Charles Schwab helps raise the funds necessary to purchase the food and then also helps packs the bags.
- Higginbotham was a partner in the recent back-to-school supply drive, setting donation stations around their corporate office and collecting supplies.
- QuikTrip not only supports CISTC through grants each year, but also hosts career days at their local headquarters for students.
“Communities In Schools plays an important role in our community, as we keep young people from falling through the cracks,” Garner said.