San Jacinto Junior High in Midland is one of the schools that will benefit from the new grant funding.
CISPB receives $2.4 million expansion grant for student support services
New campus coordinator positions have been added at seven Permian Basin schools thanks to a three-year, $2.4 million grant from Communities in Schools (CIS).
The trained, on-campus coordinator focuses on connecting students with additional supports to help them learn, move up in grade level and graduate.
The CIS funding is part of a national effort by the organization to grow its student support services model to reach more students living in poverty.
For the Permian Basin, this will mean that Communities In Schools of the Permian Basin (CISPB), an affiliate of CIS, will have a presence on five new MISD campuses—Abell Junior High; San Jacinto Junior High; Midland Alternative Program (MAP); Scharbauer Elementary; and South Elementary—as well as the six campuses already served. Burleson Elementary and Downing Elementary have also been added in ECISD, along with two additional high school positions.
These additions, per CIS, will permit CISPB to increase case management for an additional 800 students in the Permian Basin, while serving nearly 3,000 students overall.
The $2.4 million in funding will be used throughout a three year timeframe. A commitment of matching funds for the grant came from Midland ISD and Ector County ISD. CIS said the expansion fund aims to encourage local public and private investment via a 1:1 match requirement over the first three years and commitments to fully fund the work long-term.
The latest initiative follows CIS’ $165 million investment with the Ballmer Group in early 2023 to expand its student support to 1,000 low income schools.
