Communities In Schools of Washington Marks 35 Years, Now Reaching More Than 144,000 Statewide Students Annually

Founded in 1991, Communities In Schools of Washington celebrates 35 years of removing barriers to learning, now in 49 districts with 12 affiliates statewide.

TACOMA, WA, UNITED STATES, October 8, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Communities In Schools of Washington (CISWA) is celebrating its 35th year of showing up for Washington’s students and connecting young people and their families with the community resources that remove barriers to learning and help students thrive. Founded on Nov. 4, 1991, CISWA has grown from an effort launched by Puget Sound business and education leaders into a statewide network of 12 affiliates. Today, that network reaches more than 144,000 students across 212 schools in 49 school districts.

“Communities In Schools^® and Communities In Schools of Washington have made and continue to make a difference, not only in students’ lives, but also in their families and in the communities we serve and have impacted over the past 35 years,” said Gwynth R. Nelson, CEO and State Executive Director of CISWA. “We meet students where they are. We don’t go into schools saying, ‘This is what we think you need.’ We go in and do a comprehensive assessment of what is needed.”

Needs can look different from community to community. The greatest concern may be chronic absenteeism, transportation, mental illness, homelessness, food insecurity or another issue. Once identified, CIS teams can go in and reduce the gap between what is needed and what resources and are available to meet those needs. Site coordinators show up every day for the Washington students that are a part of the network to go above and beyond identifying the challenges and implementing solutions.

Local Roots, Statewide Reach
The Communities In Schools movement traces its roots to 1977, when founder Bill Milliken advanced a model centered on bringing community resources directly into schools. Fourteen years later, Boeing, Costco and a coalition of Washington business and education leaders brought that model to Washington, with the first CIS affiliate established in the state on Nov. 4, 1991.

Over the decades, the network expanded across both sides of the Cascades, bringing the CIS model to rural, suburban and urban communities. Major philanthropic investments helped accelerate that growth, including a $5.85 million collective gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in 2022 to CISWA and three Washington affiliates, and a $9 million investment from Ballmer Group in 2023 designed to expand and deepen CIS services in 45 schools and reach more than 64,000 students by 2028.

Recent research has also added new evidence of the Communities In Schools model’s long-term impact. Research led by scholars affiliated with Cornell University and the EdRedesign Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education examined the effect of CIS personalized student supports in high-poverty schools. The research found improvements in standardized test scores, high school completion and adult earnings. Earlier findings reported that three years of CIS exposure increased high school graduation by 5.2% over baseline and two-year college enrollment by 9.1% among students identified by researchers as high-risk.

A CIS Alumnus Returns Home
For Adolfo Vela, the impact of CIS relationships is personal. Vela is a CIS alumnus who now serves as a CIS site coordinator for the Waterville School District, in a small, close-knit wheat-farming community in eastern Washington. As a student, he was first introduced to CIS by his Site Coordinator, Edgar Salamanca. According to Vela, this relationship changed the trajectory of his life and encouraged him to pursue college.

Salamanca worked with Vela and his friends on scholarship and student aid applications. Before that, Vela wasn’t convinced college was part of his future.

“Edgar is one of the reasons I went to college,” said Vela. “I did not think I would go to college right after high school. He helped us fill out scholarships and the FAFSA… that was the first step. I got motivated.”

Vela graduated from Waterville in 2020, attended Wenatchee Valley College and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Eastern Washington University. He stayed connected with Salamanca, who now serves as Program Director for Communities In Schools of North Central Washington. After college, the relationship ultimately helped bring Vela back to Waterville — this time as the CIS Site Coordinator at the same school where he had once received support.

For the full release, please visit: https://ciswa.org/news/communities-in-schools-of-washington-marks-35-years-now-reaching-more-than-144000-statewide-students-annually/

Megan Petersen
Communities In Schools of Washington
communications@ciswa.org

35 Years of Showing Up for Washington Students | Communities In Schools of Washington

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