Communities in Schools of Cape Fear

The mission of Communities in Schools of Cape Fear is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. To fulfill our mission, we place staff inside targeted, high-need public schools, who work directly with vulnerable students and those with the greatest risk of dropping out throughout the school day. We empower over 2,500 students to stay in school and on the path to graduation each year. Our trained student support specialists do this by partnering with counselors and teachers, mobilizing the community to offer extra support, and doing whatever it takes to help students succeed. Our unique model works because it's based on national research, driven by community relationships and supported by local resources. Current programs include Student Support Specialists at 34 area schools, afterschool programs at 6 schools in Pender County, Community Learning Alternatives for Suspended Students (CLASS) at our downtown youth center, WIRE, Teen Court, Restitution, and Restorative Justice, Freedom School and summer enrichment programs, and programming to support and empower teen parents. During the 2023/2024 school year, we provided free programming and support to 34,549 students and families, and case-managed an additional 2,664. Of those, 99% stayed in school, 94% graduated, 88% improved academically, 79% improved behavior, and 93% improved attendance.