Statewide school program hosts luminary event to honor students, families

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The second annual Illuminating Communities in Schools of South Carolina (CISSC) event was held on the banks of the Ashley River at Brittlebank Park

The Communities in Schools program is lighting the way for public school students.

“Our program currently serves 24,500 students K-12,” CISSC’s Lowcountry director of development Jennifer Harris said, “across the state of South Carolina. These students are amazing, they’re full of potential, they have a lot of incredible things going for them, but they just need a little bit of support.”

Organizers say Sunday’s celebration was to honor the students in the program, as well as highlight the importance of public education across the state.

“We lit all of these candles,” David Burt, chairman of CISSC, said, “all of these bags. They represent the 24,000 students that we, as Communities in Schools, affect and that we work with throughout the school year.”

Students in the program are selected for various reasons.

“They might have some struggles that they’re having with academics,” Harris said. “They might have some struggles at home with rent or food insecure, lots of things like that. And they may get referred to us by a guidance counselor, by a teacher, by a principal or the family themselves.”

The program’s site coordinators, who are housed in schools throughout the state, ensure the students receive the support they need.

“Not everybody has someone there for them all the time,” Burt said, “but to have someone there when you need them, that’s what CIS is about. That’s what Communities in Schools means.”

And their investment in the students is yielding positive results.

“Our success rate with these kids,” Burt said, “it’s just beyond belief. We had a 99 percent graduation rate for all CIS case-managed students last year.”

CISSC’s goal was to raise $100,000 and Sunday’s event raised nearly $110,000.