Student Support Branch: Cohort 2

Cohort 2 Five Communities In Schools (CIS) affiliates are participating in the Virginia Community Schools Initiative as part of Cohort 2, serving as valued partners in this work. Through their established presence in schools and communities, CIS affiliates help coordinate supports, strengthen partnerships, and connect students and families to needed resources. Their involvement enhances the

Cohort 2 📍 Region 2 Portsmouth City is implementing Community Schools work at three elementary schools: Douglas Park Elementary, Waterview Elementary, and Westhaven Elementary. Each school has a site coordinator and distinct program identity, but all three share the same core goals: reducing chronic absenteeism and suspensions, and improving academic outcomes. Portsmouth frames their work

Cohort 2 📍 Region 7 In Smyth County, substance use is a reality across the school division’s communities, and Smyth’s five Community Schools are building prevention programming that meets students where they are. Each school is shaping its approach around its own students and families, from Narcan training offered to families at a community parade

Cohort 2 📍 Region 6 Roanoke City has built two community hubs serving as access points for health services, family resources, and basic needs within school communities. The Community Empowerment Center at Booker T. Washington partners with the Virginia Department of Health for school physicals and immunizations and has established sixteen community partnerships. The LIFT

Cohort 2 📍 Region 5 Charlottesville City’s Community Schools model is operationalized by the Community Mentorship Coalition that organizes ten schools into three programs: Confidence and Comprehension Clubs for elementary literacy, Bridge Builders for middle school belonging, and the Life Skills Academy for high school career preparation and postsecondary planning. A Community Talent Bank system

Cohort 2 📍 Region 4 Arlington County is partnering with Edu-Futuro, a nonprofit serving immigrant families across Northern Virginia to provide educational and social services. Through the Community Schools grant, the division is sustaining that work at Wakefield High School and Arlington Community School. Through the collaboration, Edu-Futuro specialists are coordinating cultural celebrations and connecting

Cohort 2 📍 Region 1 Richmond Public Schools is launching its Community Schools work by building the Student and Family Engagement (SAFE) Center, a dedicated hub at Clark Springs Elementary designed to serve more than 2,000 families. The implementation team has finalized the physical space and is procuring additional materials and supplies as needed, while

Cohort 2 📍 Region 7 Buchanan County is building a Community Schools infrastructure across all eight of its schools, formalizing supports that the division has been providing and expanding them under a coordinated model. The division is working with the Boys and Girls Club of Central Appalachia as its anchor community partner. At the elementary

Cohort 2 📍 Region 6