Communities In Schools of Eastern Pennsylvania

Communities In Schools of Eastern Pennsylvania is a non-profit organization based at 739 N 12th St in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The affiliate operates within the national Communities In Schools network, a dropout prevention organization that places coordinators and site staff directly inside public schools to connect students with the resources they need to stay enrolled, stay on track and graduate. Rather than running a standalone facility that families visit, the organization does most of its work where students already spend their days: in classrooms, hallways, cafeterias and after-school spaces across the region's school districts.

The national Communities In Schools model dates to the 1970s, when youth advocate Bill Milliken argued that fragmented social services rarely reached the young people who needed them most, and that the solution was to bring those services into the school building itself. That philosophy, often summarized as surrounding students with a community of support, remains the operating framework for local affiliates like the Eastern Pennsylvania chapter. The organization functions as a bridge between schools and the broader network of social service agencies, health providers, businesses, faith communities and volunteers already present in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding counties.

What the Organization Does

The core of the Communities In Schools approach is integrated student supports. Site coordinators are embedded in partner schools, where they assess the needs of the student population as a whole and then work intensively with a smaller caseload of students who face the most significant barriers to attendance, behavior and coursework. Those barriers are often practical rather than academic: a student who lacks a winter coat, reliable transportation, eyeglasses, food at home or a stable place to sleep will struggle in class no matter how capable they are.

Typical categories of support coordinated through the organization include:

• Academic assistance, including tutoring, homework help and credit recovery support
• Attendance monitoring and intervention, with outreach to families when patterns of absence emerge
• Behavioral support and social-emotional learning, including one-on-one mentoring and small-group sessions
• Basic needs assistance such as food, clothing, school supplies and hygiene items
• Enrichment and extracurricular programming during and after the school day
• College and career readiness activities, including exposure to post-secondary options and workforce pathways
• Family engagement and referrals to outside agencies for housing, health care, counseling and other services

Enrichment programming is a visible part of the organization's presence in local elementary and secondary schools. Partnerships with outside instructors and community groups have brought structured activities into school buildings, including martial arts instruction, arts programming, athletics and academic clubs. These offerings serve a dual purpose: they give students constructive activity during out-of-school hours, and they create consistent contact between students and caring adults who can notice when something is wrong.

The Site Coordinator Model

What distinguishes Communities In Schools from many youth-serving non-profits is the placement of full-time staff inside partner schools. A site coordinator is not a visiting volunteer or an occasional guest presenter. That person has a desk in the building, knows the teachers and administrators by name, and becomes a familiar and trusted presence for students over the course of a school year and often across multiple years.

The coordinator begins with a needs assessment, working with school leadership to identify where the gaps are, then builds a plan that combines schoolwide supports available to every student with targeted, individualized case management for students who need more. Progress is tracked over time, with attendance records, behavior referrals and course performance serving as measurable indicators. This data orientation is a hallmark of the national network and allows affiliates to demonstrate outcomes to school district partners, funders and the public.

Service Area and Community Role

The Allentown office anchors the organization's work in Lehigh and Northampton counties and the surrounding eastern Pennsylvania region. Allentown is Pennsylvania's third-largest city and the center of the Lehigh Valley, home to a large and diverse student population and a school district that serves tens of thousands of children. The city's mix of long-established immigrant communities, newer arrivals and families navigating economic pressure creates exactly the conditions the Communities In Schools model was designed to address.

Because the organization works through school partnerships rather than a walk-in service center, families typically encounter Communities In Schools through their child's school rather than by contacting the Allentown office directly. Parents and guardians who believe their student could benefit from support are generally best served by speaking with a school counselor, principal or the site coordinator assigned to that building. The central office handles administration, development, program oversight and coordination with district partners.

Getting Involved

Like most Communities In Schools affiliates, the Eastern Pennsylvania chapter relies on a combination of school district contracts, grants, corporate sponsorship and individual giving to fund its programming. Community members can support the work in several ways:

• Volunteering as a tutor, mentor or activity leader in a partner school
• Donating supplies, clothing, food or funds to support basic needs assistance
• Offering professional expertise or programming through a community partnership
• Sponsoring events or programs as a local business
• Sharing information about available supports with families who may benefit

Organizations, instructors and businesses interested in bringing a program into a partner school are encouraged to reach out to discuss how their offering might fit alongside existing supports.

Location and Accessibility

The organization's office is located at 739 N 12th St in Allentown, in the 18102 ZIP code, north of the city's downtown business district and accessible from the city's main north-south corridors. The site has a wheelchair accessible entrance and a wheelchair accessible parking lot, making the office reachable for visitors, volunteers and partners with mobility needs.

The office can be reached by phone at +1 484-834-8830, and additional information about programs, partner schools, volunteer opportunities and donation options is available through the organization's website at ciseasternpa.org. Prospective volunteers should expect background check requirements consistent with Pennsylvania regulations for adults working with children in school settings.