Cascade School District partners with Communities in Schools for increased student support

LEAVENWORTH — Cascade School District (CSD) has partnered with Communities in Schools of North Central Washington to provide students with a community of support for academic and personal success.

“It's one of those things that kind of came together quickly, but I'm just so delighted that we can start this partnership with Communities in Schools,” said CSD Superintendent Tracey Edou during an Aug. 18 school board meeting.

During the pandemic, CSD received federal funding to support one social worker on staff. While it provided a significant service to the district, funding for the role subsequently ended. Since, the district has been looking at ways to provide much needed support to its students.

Last year, it was able to supplement with secondary support from Cascade Medical Center and a social worker intern, Christina Ford. With the end of Ford’s internship, the responsibilities would be shifted on to counseling and nursing staff the upcoming school year.

Communities in Schools NCW, an affiliate of a nationwide nonprofit organization, aims to address these gaps. It works with other support staff to bring in community resources and ensure the needs are met for students and their families, allowing administrators to focus on school operations and teachers to focus on teaching.

“Our model, our mission, is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life…We are in schools throughout the school day, not just before and not just after,” said Communities in Schools of NCW Program Director Edgar Salamanca.

According to Salamanca, the organization begins with a needs assessment of the school, then works with leadership to make a plan with school-wide goals. With the plan in mind, the organization takes a three-tiered approach. The first tier provides support to the entire school to foster a positive setting, tier two addresses targeted needs with small groups, and the third tier provides individualized services for students with highly specific needs. 

The partnership is supported by a three-year grant, and will start with one site coordinator. The coordinator will be focused on Alpine Lakes Elementary and Icicle River Middle School, with the ability to offer some district-wide support. According to Edou, the district may expand to two coordinators down the road, which is typical for a district of its size.

“We're excited to have some more hands on deck, and you can see they have a very robust program, and they know what they're doing. And I think having some additional support for our counseling and nursing team is very exciting,” said Edou.

The organization currently works directly inside 15 schools in Manson, Moses Lake, Orondo, Palisades Waterville, and Wenatchee School Districts, with more districts joining.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media