Communities In Schools of Tennessee

After Ava missed a total of 67 days of school during her junior year at Maplewood High, she was referred to program manager Ms. Jasmyne. Over time, Ms. Jasmyne built a strong bond with Ava, creating a safe space where the teenager to share her feelings and coordinating reliable school transportation when needed.

Now in her senior year, has Ava improved her attendance by 30 days this year, is passing all of her classes, and is on track to graduate on time. She also applied to technical and trade schools with Ms. Jasmyne’s help, and currently plans to attend Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) in Nashville to pursue a career in nursing or phlebotomy. Well done, Ava!

Read Ava’s full story here: https://go.cistn.org/AVzJlH

Our next senior spotlight is Landon, from Bledsoe County High School! Beginning with his freshman year, Landon missed an average of 20 school days per year and averaged C’s academically.

But with support from program manager Ms. Rachael, Landon transformed into high attendance, straight-A senior who’s earned multiple Student of the Month awards. He was also recently accepted to Chattanooga State Community College, where he will become the first person in his family to attend college. Congrats Landon!

Read his full story here: https://go.cistn.org/3w5WEs

Meet Kiana, our first senior spotlight!

Kiana didn’t know if she’d be able to return to East Ridge High School for her senior year after having a baby at the end of her junior year. Then she started working with her program manager Ms. Takeisha to build a childcare support system.

Once Kiana was able to attend more classes, her grades soared. Not only is she on track to graduate on time, she was also recently accepted to University of Tennessee Chattanooga, where she plans to try out for the dance team. Way to go, Kiana!

Read Kiana’s full story here: https://go.cistn.org/Q2KLj4

Meet Kiana, our first senior spotlight!

Kiana didn’t know if she’d be able to return to East Ridge High School for her senior year after having a baby at the end of her junior year. Then she started working with her program manager Ms. Takeisha to build a childcare support system.

Once Kiana was able to attend more classes, her grades soared. Not only is she on track to graduate on time, she was also recently accepted to University of Tennessee Chattanooga, where she plans to try out for the dance team. Way to go, Kiana!

Read Kiana’s full story at the link in our bio!

When Ms. Yenin learned that one of her students had never had a birthday party of his own, she knew that she had to change that immediately. The program manager decided to throw a surprise party for the student and recruited fellow staff and students at Shwab Elementary to help her.

For the party, they created a warm, welcoming space with red table covers (red is the student’s favorite color) and stocked it with pizza and other treats. When the day arrived, friends and faculty stopped by the party to say hello, offer kind words, and bring small gifts, which made the student feel seen and valued by the entire school community.

“His reaction was incredibly genuine; he was smiling, excited, and clearly touched by the effort everyone put in,” Ms. Yenin said. “It was a powerful reminder of how meaningful it is to celebrate our students and make them feel special, and it turned into a truly joyful and unforgettable experience for everyone involved.”

Annual TCAP testing can be a stressful time for students, especially for younger kids who may not have as much testing experience. That’s why Ms. Jenny, the program manager at Oakdale School, gave out TCAP treats throughout the week of testing alongside encouraging messages to help students stay positive and motivated.

To help ease those test-day nerves, she brought jitter juice as well as Reddi-whip to help students “whip” away any stress that comes their way. They also gave out other treats such as oranges and cookies, and paired each one with encouraging, confidence-boosting statements.

“Every day, students are put to the test in their strength, resilience, and abilities—because let’s be honest, life can be hard! And with testing season here, we want to make sure they feel supported, confident, and ready to conquer anything in front of them,” Ms. Jenny said.

Thank you so much to Communities In Schools and Whataburger for providing iPads to our case-managed high school seniors in Nashville! As part of the “Whatamoment” graduation tour, they sponsored iPads for graduating CISTN seniors who attend school within Whataburger’s Nashville service area. Pictured here are seniors from Maplewood High School showing off their new iPads, which they will be able to use to study for college and apply to jobs post-grad.

Last week, Shwab Elementary School and program manager Ms. Yenin hosted another amazing group of HCA Healthcare volunteers. The volunteers cleaned up Ms. Yenin’s office space and packed goodie bags to prepare for an upcoming glow party celebration for students who met their attendance goals. Thank you to HCA for another awesome volunteer event!

Earlier this month, our Southeast TN program managers gathered together for an end-of-year celebration before school wraps up for the summer! Our senior leadership team also joined them for lunch to show their appreciation for all their hard work this year. We 💛 our program managers and are so grateful for everything that they do!

It’s May, which means it’s graduation season here in Tennessee! For the next few weeks, we’ll be highlighting some of ’s standout seniors who are graduating high school this year. We hope that you’ll join us in celebrating the class of 2026 and all the hard work that they have put in over the past four years!