This month, Child Trends, a national research nonprofit, released a new report affirming the effectiveness and cost efficiency of integrated student supports (ISS) programs like Communities In Schools (CIS) in improving education outcomes. These programs target both academic and non-academic barriers to achievement by identifying individual student needs and mobilizing community resources to meet them.
Communities In Schools is the largest provider of ISS in the country, with a data-driven model that continues to prove effective in reducing dropout rates across the country.
Key findings from Child Trends’ latest report, Integrated Student Supports: The Evidence (www.childtrends.org/issreport) include:
• ISS programs increase math achievement and student attendance and lower dropout rates;
• Student-centric programs that focus on all aspects of students’ needs, both academic and non-academic, are more likely to be successful than ones that focus on single factors in isolation;
• ISS programs are cost effective and yield a positive return on investment; and,
• High-quality implementation is key to the effectiveness of these programs, while low-quality or partial implementation shows lower or no difference at all in effectiveness.
Download a report summary here.
Download and read the full report here: Full Report