Some Communities In Schools programs have Charter status. What does that mean?
Communities In Schools sites go through four programmatic developmental stages, culminating in chartered status. A CIS site begins in the planning stage, which usually takes one year for a task force to identify problems, and assess and prioritize community needs. After the planning stage, a site moves into the implementation stage and a Board of Directors is put into place and an Executive Director is hired to begin programming. Following eight logistical steps, a site is then moved into the operational phase to fully begin serving students. A CIS site is then ready for charter review, which requires a rigorous accreditation process. Five different key operational areas are examined carefully by a state and national CIS team during the review for chartering. Chartered sites are more sustainable because they are institutionalized and not built around any one individual. A chartered site receives first preference for pass-through funds from both the State and National office.
