For one 6th grade student in Bellingham, Communities In Schools helped her move from chronically absent to thriving in school. Although school staff had tried to contact the student鈥檚 family multiple times, they could not reach a family member, and the student was about to be referred to truancy court. It was then that the student met Ari Wright, an AmeriCorps member serving as a Site Coordinator with CIS of Whatcom-Skagit.
鈥淚 wrote about how talented, creative and kind her daughter is, and how I cared about her and wanted to see her at school more often.”
Ari Wright, AmeriCorps Site Coordinator with CIS of Whatcom-Skagit
As the school鈥檚 Site Coordinator, Ari began following up with the student and getting to know her. She checked in with the student, helped her organize her daily assignments, and walked the student to school from her nearby home. Since the student鈥檚 family was unresponsive to calls and emails from the school, Ari also got creative and started writing backpack notes for the student to take home to her mom.
鈥淚 wrote about how talented, creative and kind her daughter is, and how I cared about her and wanted to see her at school more often,鈥� says Ari.
Ari鈥檚 gentle persistence paid off in the form of a reply letter from the student鈥檚 mom鈥攐ne that included a new phone number to call. As the mom shared the family鈥檚 situation with Ari, Ari was able to refer them to local resources for additional support. By this time, the student was walking herself to school, going to class regularly, and making new friends at a lunch group that Ari facilitated. The student has since become a self-appointed champion of the lunchtime program and hasn鈥檛 missed a day of school.
鈥淲hat she really needed was someone to meet her and her mom where they were,鈥� says Ari. 鈥淚鈥檓 so proud of her.鈥�
This story is shared courtesy of . Learn more about how AmeriCorps members #GetThingsDone at .