For newly immigrated students, the beginning of their experience in Arlington Public Schools can be the difference between graduation and dropping out. For the past decade, these students–facing challenges of language, culture and resources–have been the most at-risk of dropping out of school. Recognizing this crucial need in our school communities, Communities In Schools of NOVA is working to bridge these gaps to provide students with a solid foundation in our community. Through orientation programs such as STARS at Wakefield, and Monday Connect at Arlington Community, students are given the opportunity to begin their education in Arlington on the right foot. World [...]

This past Monday marked the beginning of our fourth year of Teen Cuisine with our partners at INOVA Health and our very first alumni Lunch Bunch! Teen Cuisine is an after school program that gives students the opportunity to learn about healthy and nutritious eating and try recipes that they can make at home. Every year it is one of our most popular programs, and it’s always a surprise to hear kids raving about kale chips! This year we’ve expanded the program to continue to work with students who participated the previous year by offering a bi-monthly lunch group where students can [...]

It’s easy to go into a community and talk about the success of our CIS model. It’s easy, because before I do that, I get to see firsthand how effective that model is at each of our CIS NOVA schools. Every fall, slightly after the back-to-school dust settles, I visit our Site Coordinators to learn about the great programs they have planned for the school year. The first thing I observe when I visit, is that Site Coordinators are busy. It’s no surprise that 5,745 students were connected to CIS resources and supports last year, or that 98% of our students were [...]

It’s not an easy thing migrating to a new country. Having to adapt to a new environment; navigating your way through language barriers, learning new norms and wanting to feel included all at the same time is challenging.  And of course thriving is a whole other story.  Sahar and her family escaped conflict in Syria as asylum seekers, in search of a better life in America.  We met the family in 2016 when two of Sahar’s children attended Gunston Middle School. Our CIS coordinator at Gunston, Rula, worked with Karim (a 6th grader at the time), Sahar’s youngest son to ensure he felt a [...]