(Name) is supporting Communities in Schools of PA

The mission of Communities in Schools of Pennsylvania is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. We believe that every child, regardless of their circumstances, deserves the resources and opportunities needed to thrive. 

CISPA serves 30 individual schools in 12 school districts, including 8 schools in York County. CISPA currently provides programming in the School District of the City of York at Davis Pre K-8, Goode Pre K-8, Hannah Penn Pre K-8, Devers Pre K-8, Ferguson Pre K-8, McKinley Pre K-8, and William Penn Senior High School and Spring Grove Area School District at Paradise Elementary. 

In these schools, supports include 3 tiers of services to students: Tier 1 (whole-school), Tier 2 (small group), and Tier 3 (intensive casemanagement). Our talented school based team members find partnerships and resources in the community and brings them to students and families, work to support and empower students to remove non-academic barriers to their success, and bring programs and resources to the whole school and work 1:1 with small groups.

I have been a Site Coordinator at McKinley for the past three years and have been loving every second of it! Although I am employed with CISPA, McKinley has adopted me as their very own. I enjoy working with CISPA because it allows me to be as creative as I would like to be, highlighting my individual strengths. This year I created a Girls Group for middle school females in 7th and 8th grade. We discussed boundary setting, healthy/unhealthy relationships, creating/ending friendships, the mother/daughter bond, skincare, etc. Getting to know these students on a deeper, personal level has been heartwarming. They are definitely the highlight of my year. 

In York County during the 2024-2025 school year:

• 70,502 (duplicated) students participated in Tier 1 (whole-school) programs

• 316 students were served through intensive, one-on-one case management

• 20,099 (duplicated) parents were served through Tier 1 (whole-school) supports

• 566 basic needs items were distributed, including clothing, food, hygiene, and school supplies