Student Success Stories
If you are interested in learning more about how Communities In Schools impacts kids in Georgia, read our CIS stories below.
Jamal - Fitzgerald/Ben Hill PLC
Marco - Cobb County PLC
Marco, Cobb County PLC
Before Marco Garcia entered the Cobb County Performance Learning Center® (PLC), he had disciplinary problems and poor grades. His family had given up on him, and he was on his way to dropping out of high school. Since arriving at the PLC, Marco has been a shining star. The disciplinary trouble is gone and his grades have improved.
Garcia, who is currently a junior, is the president of the student chapter of the Kiwanis Club of Marietta. In that capacity, he spoke to over 300 attendees at a Kiwanis regional meeting held at Jekyll Island, Georgia. Garcia has also acted as a team leader when PLC students cooked and served meals to the homeless. His family is proud of his accomplishments, and his father is so pleased that he donated money to the PLC.
Jamal, Fitzgerald/Ben Hill County
Performance Learning Centers® (PLCs) are small, non-traditional schools geared toward high school students who are not succeeding in the traditional school setting. When Jamal was admitted to the PLC in Fitzgerald/Ben Hill County, he had been wasting time at his traditional high school, was hanging out with the wrong crowd, and behind in his course work. He became lost and confused and didn’t have a plan for his future.
After being admitted to the PLC, Jamal felt motivated and enjoyed the opportunity to work at his own pace and receive one-on-one attention when needed. He is now a senior and on track to graduate. Many of the students that attend the PLC are dual enrolled at a local college, and Jamal is no exception. He is taking software classes and plans to attend Middle Georgia College and earn a degree in Forensic Photography.
Because Jamal was motivated, he used equipment at his local technical college, wrote, directed and produced a 5-minute DVD, and submitted the entry into the CIS statewide Student Achievement Month (SAM) contest. SAM provides an opportunity for talented youth who are sometimes overlooked and often expected to underachieve to excel. Jamal won first place and was honored (along with 10 other students) at a luncheon at the Georgia Aquarium. Each state winner received software, an MP3 player, and a computer and printer donated by Wal-Mart.
PLC administrators were so impressed with Jamal’s work that they asked him, and one of his peers, to recommend software and computer equipment that can be used to help the local school district recruit teachers.
CRYSTAL, Laurens County
I first became a student at Communities In Schools in 2001. However, before my mom even knew we had such a program in Dublin my sister and I were latch-key kids. We rode the bus, let ourselves into the apartment, and did our homework on our own.