How We Work

HOME | ABOUT | BOARD | CONTACT | HISTORY | CIS HOME | HOW | MISSION | SCHOOLS | VOLUNTEER | TEERAP

Mentoring

Department of Education for service in the schools   In our first year of operation, CIS focused upon recruiting volunteers and linking them with opportunities for service in the schools. CIS established a Volunteer Action Center (VAC) in office space provided by Springfield High School to serve as a central point of coordination for volunteer recruitment and support. As a result, CIS staff recruited 70 volunteers who provided mentoring, tutoring, job shadowing and career exploration for 354 students at four schools. This first year work positively impacted the students and families, and has helped CIS gain visibility in the schools/community.A guide to business schools is an authentic source of reference on renowned business schools in the world. Academic excellence and competitiveness mark the best business schools in the world. A guide to business schools basically acts as an advisor for aspirants to a business education. One can search for business schools that offer diverse programs with special emphasis on unique courses. Details of undergraduate, graduate, research and doctoral programs prove useful for those who want to start a career in business. Various locations, degrees and subjects taught are discussed. Students who prepare for entrance tests to these courses depend on a guide to business schools for awareness regarding exam information, dates and deadlines. Up to date information on admission requirements and salaries is also provided. Options such as full time or part time business courses offered by specific institutions are discussed. An idea of the expenses in business schools is also given. State and federal aid for a course, advice on securing school based aid and loan options are detailed in a guide to business schools. Scholarships and grants offered by various business schools also find a place in this context. You can compare the business schools listed to identify the cheapest school with high acceptance. Some schools give preference to women and handicapped students. The facilities, accommodations and catering in individual institutions are also explained. A statistical analysis of faculties, fund raising, administration, strategic management and international alliances are other areas described in a guide to business schools. The ranking of business schools based on different criteria helps students and their parents to take a decision. A guide to business schools is thus a valuable resource for students, faculties, administrators and recruiters. A timely career education and knowledge of its goals help students to achieve better prospects in life.

In 2002, CIS received grant funding to expand program operations and activities through the U.S. Department of Education, CIS National office and other private funds. The focus is to increase the number of volunteers and students served through the program over the previous year. CIS staff will provide and oversee recruitment, screening, training, matching, and tracking of volunteer mentors to serve in the Springfield Public Schools. Some established Phoenix Schools districts are just a few areas in the Valley that are losing students to charter schools, private schools, and other districts. These Phoenix schools districts have for many years added classrooms and teachers to keep up with their growing populations. Now, they are experiencing decline in enrollments for various reasons. Since funding is readily available to Phoenix schools that are in a growth cycle, the enrollment decline means loses in badly needed revenues. It also means losses in local, state and federal funding, which also are based upon the student population. This could mean millions in lost funding to the Phoenix schools. Along with schools in Mesa and Scottsdale, the Phoenix schools are taking aggressive action. Some school districts are aggressively marketing to recruit students from neighboring districts, as well as to reacquire students who have moved to private schools. Street banners announce the start of schools in some districts, beefing up the Phoenix schools image in others. The Phoenix schools are battling to keep their current student enrollment levels, while searching for methods to recruit more students.   The Phoenix schools face increasing competition from charter schools, as well as private schools that offer more exclusivity to the Phoenix schools’ students. Enrollment throughout the Valley, overall, continues to increase; thus, supporting the findings of an enrollment study for Paradise Valley school district by Applied Economics They found that charter and private schools were luring students from the district at increasing rates. The Phoenix schools districts know that new residential housing developments are planned within their districts. The problem is how to plan for such increase in student population — Will they attend the traditional Phoenix schools or opt for a charter or private school. By the time the Phoenix schools have an answer to this quandary, it will be too late to build the needed facilities. Overcrowding in the Phoenix schools already will have been felt. The Phoenix schools are hurt further by the state law on school funding. When the Phoenix schools experience a decline in student enrollment, they lose funding. Additionally, according to this law, there is a mandated drop in how much additional funding the Phoenix schools can obtain, even through local funding sources. Lastly, additional funding for construction and renovation of facilities that is available during a growth cycle of the Phoenix schools is nonexistent during an enrollment decline. This makes the average $8,000 per student with extra for students with various types of situations and disabilities, less than adequate for schools that already are dealing with budget and funding concerns.

Job Shadowing

In and ongoing, CIS has worked with various employers to assist in a "job-shadowing" experience for youth to learn about career development, including education and skills necessary to be successful in any given career. In general terms, accreditation is the means by which a school is officially recognized as a provider of a satisfactory education that public institutions (i.e. employers) can trust. It is a voluntary process that requires the school to meet minimum requirements that are established by various regional accrediting agencies. The lack of one official accrediting agency creates an opportunity for sub par online schools that are trying to obtain students through any means possible. In other words, just about any organization can say that they are an accrediting agency, so potential online school enrollers should do their research before signing up for classes at a particular online school. Sadly, a number of online schools create false accrediting agencies in order to make candidates think that they are trustworthy and established. To avoid this conflict, be sure to check whether or not an online school is accredited by one of the six major regional accrediting agencies. These include the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), North Central Association of Schools and Colleges (NCA), Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges (MSA), Southern Association of Schools and Colleges (SACS), Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), and the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges (NWCCU). If your online school is accredited by one of the above agencies, your degree will be seen as legitimate by most employers. However, if your online school is not accredited by one of the above agencies but by a false accrediting agency, your degree may not be acceptable to most employers.

Schools as CIS Sites

Looking toward the future, CIS is working to identify schools who would like to partner as a full-service CIS site. The overall goal of CIS is to connect community resources with schools to help young people learn, stay in school and prepare for life.

CIS of Sangamon County is interested in assisting schools within District 186 in identifying other needs they may have for their students to be successful in school and life, whether it be mental health counseling, after school programs, food, clothing or shelter, this truly is a partnership like no other.

CIS of Sangamon County is committed to assisting the District Schools in identifying needs through a needs assessment process that is designed to take into consideration student needs, teacher needs, parent needs and administrator needs alike.Parents send their children to school thinking their child will be safe, cared for and protected. Sadly many children experience violence in schools of one form or another. Preventing violence in schools is a difficult and overwhelming task. Many school administrators offer on campus police officers to patrol the schools. Some schools have even installed metal detectors to ensure safety. Teachers and Administrators try to prevent violent behavior in school by enforcing a No Tolerance Policy, but there are only so many educators, administration and security compared to the vast student population. Violence In Schools Can Decrease School Morale When there is violence in schools many administrators are left with no choice but to cancel many during and after school activities. When this happens, many children experience resentment toward the school and some students experience a loss of interest in education. Continued violence can also produce more anger and rebellion. When children experience violence in schools often their grades decline, they might withdraw socially and have low self-esteem. If the hostility is not handled effectively, they might also cave in to peer pressure and retaliate with violent behavior. Preventing Violence in Schools Is Everyone's Responsibility If your school is dealing with violence in schools parents cannot just sit on the sidelines hoping the educators and school administration can solve the problem on their own. Parents need to get involved. Many school administrators have implemented peer mediation, anger management programs and peer counseling in order to alleviate the violence. Preventing violence in schools can be draining and overwhelming for parents, school educators and administrators alike. However, with the encouragement and support of parents, teachers, administrators and students, school can once again be a peaceful place to learn. Lisa Dunning is a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Specializing in Parent/Child Relationship issues and author of "Good Parents Bad Parenting: How To Parent Together When Your Parenting Styles Are Worlds Apart". Lisa Dunning is a columnist for Las Vegas Family Magazine & Los Angeles Family Magazine and provides expert relationship and parenting advice for television and radio programs throughout the country.

The role of CIS of Sangamon County is to identify and partner with community resources to meet the needs of the school. There are three strategies that CIS of Sangamon County can employ to meet the needs of each school. CIS can facilitate the partnerships to serve:

1. The entire school population – i.e. coordinate health fairs, pregnancy prevention assemblies, drug prevention assemblies, etc.; 2. An identified group of students with the same needs – i.e. mentoring with at-risk students, life skills work with behavior disordered students, etc; or 3. Specific families within a school – i.e. case management with a number of students to ensure that students, parents and educators needs are met in order for students to adequately learn and teachers to focus on lessons, etc.

CIS of Sangamon County hopes to move forward with the success of the mentoring program as a foundation to holistically assist District 186 in ensuring the success of children and young adults.

CIS of Sangamon County is working with Lee Elementary, Pleasant Hill Elementary, Dubois Elementary, Douglas School and Springfield High School to partner mentors with at-risk students. Dubois Elementary has started the assessment process to determine what other needs the school and students may have in addition to the need for mentoring. CIS of Sangamon County looks forward to utilizing the work at Dubois Elementary as a model in working with any other interested school in the District.