Empowering students to succeed inside and outside the classroom

In Los Angeles, approximately 1 in 4 children under the age of 18 live in poverty, shouldering more than they should have to. At Communities In Schools, our mission is to surround students with a community of support empowering them to stay in school and achieve in Life

Our Goal IS 100% Graduation: READ OuR Stories

Staying On Track

When Dou’Jae's father was killed during her sophomore year of high school, the pressures of providing for her family could have forced the straight-A student to drop out. But that didn’t happen. Instead, Dou’Jae was able to tap into our network of support at LAUSD’s Hamilton High School that kept her on track to graduate. Today, she’s heading into her second year at UCLA and plans to become a lawyer representing low-income people.

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A Path To College

As an undocumented immigrant who came to the U.S. at age 4, Selena believed that college was out of her reach. Without a Social Security number, she couldn’t apply for federal financial aid, couldn’t qualify for in-state tuition and couldn’t get a job to pay her own way. Now a senior at Cal State LA, Selena is aiming to pursue an MBA. She still doesn’t know what the future holds, but she has no regrets about the past. 
A New Path from an Unclear Beginning

Change is a natural part of life, but it can be intimidating for a 13-year-old girl moving from the hills of Pennsylvania to coastal California.

“Will I like my new home? Will I love my new school? Will I meet new friends?” were all the questions that floated around in Ananda’s mind when the decision was made for her to move and live with her dad.
The Difference is "In"

Our site coordinators, like Kenn Campa at Mendez High School, work full-time, on campus to support the needs of our students. As Kenn shared, “ Being located on campus provides a unique opportunity to connect students to resources, staff, and opportunity. Working within the school makes it easier to do the work we need to do in coordinating resources and support.