Partnership in action at CIS-AH Back to School Summit

KINGSPORT – While rain poured down outside, inside of the MeadowView Convention Center people mingled and made connections, building excitement for the quickly approaching new school year. The event was the Partnership Pavilion, a portion of Communities in Schools of Appalachian Highland's (CIS-AH) annual Back to School Summit. The Partnership Pavilion hosts local resource representatives who partner with CIS-AH to bring resources to students in need. CIS-AH student support coordinators, adorned in bright blue shirts, wandered from table to table, learning from CIS-AH partners about resources that could benefit students. Each year, the CIS-AH Back to School Summit brings coordinators together for workshops, training and team building. The Partnership Pavilion is part of that, giving coordinators the opportunity to familiarize themselves with local resources. Partners at the event pertained to service areas like college and workforce readiness, health and wellness, and after school enrichment. One of the people who helped bring the event to life was Dusty Duncan, CIS-AH's director of strategic partnerships. Duncan shared that seeing people interact is his favorite part of the event. "We've tasked them to specifically make three new partnerships that they could carry into the school year, and it's just amazing to see smiles and conversations going on and, you know, I love hearing from our partners that this is their favorite event that they do every year," he said. This year – the third year of the pavilion – the event had its largest partner attendance yet, with over 100 partners present. CIS-AH currently serves 115 schools across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. Northeast Tennessee was added to the organization's service area in 2022, currently serving Hancock, Hawkins, Carter, Cocke and Johnson counties. This year was the first time that the event was hosted in Kingsport. "As we grew, we wanted to try to find a central location," Duncan said. "It's been an amazing spot to do it." Several Kingsport organizations have been added as CIS-AH partners, serving the teams in Hawkins County and parts of Southwest Virginia. "Our mission is providing a community of support, surrounding students with that community of support. And that comes from everywhere. And I think without the efforts of our community and without the efforts of our community partners, we couldn't provide many of the essentials that we do for our students and families, and it takes all of us," Duncan said. Lunchbox276, a nonprofit food bag program, was one CIS-AH partner present at the Partnership Pavilion. Program Coordinator Dianna James said it was the organization's first year as a CIS-AH partner and first time at the event. "My biggest takeaway from this has been, not from the partners that we already have, but from partners that are in other schools that could potentially use our services," she said. "It's giving us something to look back on in terms of expansion and how that could be possible, especially from a funding aspect." James felt the event helped cross the virtual barrier that many organizations find themselves behind and connect in person. Lunchbox276 provides child friendly, shelf stable and nutritious meals to food insecure students for the weekend. Every week, they distribute about 1,300 bags, according to James. "If it wasn't for the partnership with Communities in Schools, I'm not sure how we would efficiently deliver all of those bags on a Friday afternoon," she said. "That's really where our partnership kind of blossoms and they take on that responsibility for us to be able to deliver those bags to the students in need." CIS-AH is an affiliate of the national CIS program and the only interstate affiliate. CIS-AH connects students and their families to resources they need, aiming to keep students in school and set them up for success after graduation.