Communities in Schools of Indiana Receives $800K Gift
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Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated $800,000 to Communities in Schools of Indiana, an organization that supports student success in school and beyond. CIS of Indiana says the funding will enable it to expand its impact in schools struggling to fund the needs of children.
CIS of Indiana says Scott’s donation is the largest gift it has ever received. Scott, who is the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is donating more than $133 million to organizations around the nation to support educational efforts.
“Today is an important day for students who are underserved, under-resourced, and in need of supports to build a brighter future,” said Rey Saldaña, president of Communities In Schools. “This unrestricted gift allows us to combat the inequities in public education and reimagine the way schools operate and show up for all students. Our National goal is to bring our model inside of every one of the 70,000 Title I-eligible schools in the country; currently, we operate in 3,000 schools – so we still have a long way to go, and we will need ongoing support to get there.”
The organization says the investment will help it build sustainable support systems for students and families that might otherwise be left behind.
“CIS works in Indiana, and we have the data to show that the program really makes a difference,” Dr. Suellen Reed, former Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction and secretary of the CIS Board of Directors. “The support keeps students in school and on the road to be successful citizens. I am proud to serve with the distinguished members of the state board of CIS. The proven record of success in public schools inspires us to continue to seek the means to keep successful programs going where they have been implemented and to make services available to meet the needs of students throughout our state.”
CIS of Indiana currently serves more than 26,000 students in 31 schools throughout central Indiana. The Metropolitan School Districts of Lawrence and Decatur Townships and the Indianapolis Public Schools currently employ the CIS model.