Houston Republic

Two organizations in Texas have shown that working together can help low-income students reach their potential and enrich the community they serve.

Communities in Schools (CIS) and the Professional Janitorial Services (PJS) of Houston show that a collaborative effort produces results. Communities In Schools is the country's largest and most effective dropout prevention organization, serving students in 30 states and 27 regions in Texas, according to Suki Steinhauser, CIS chief executive officer.

"We aim to provide the support necessary so that students from low-income backgrounds are empowered to reach their potential in life," Steinhauser told the Houston Republic. "Communities In Schools of Central Texas places full-time social service professionals directly on public school campuses to work with students directly and to leverage community resources onto campus."

She said social and emotional support is a big part of the work CIS does. 

"Much of the work of CIS is providing social and emotional supports so that students may stay focused on their schoolwork regardless of what obstacles are in their path, but especially during COVID, CIS has been providing students and their families with food, housing or utility assistance, laptops or tablets and internet connectivity, and cleaning, hygiene and school supplies," Steinhauser said.

Since 2011, PJS has partnered with CIS of Central Texas and began donating funds for their programs. 

"The company’s generous support grew and PJS has been the presenting sponsor for the CIS annual gala known as Food for Thought since 2016. Over the years, PJS has introduced many new friends – personal and corporate – to CIS through the Food for Thought event," Steinhauser said.

In addition, employees of PJS have also adopted two of CIS' campuses, and have helped out in numerous ways including "hosting holiday parties, providing school supplies or raising scholarships for students to attend a structured learning program while campuses were closed during COVID," Steinhauser said. "A unique aspect of PJS is that they provide their own staff members with school supplies, time off to attend parent-teacher conferences and parenting classes."

Jaime Flores, operations manager for PJS, said the company is "proud to be a presenting sponsor for several years in helping Communities in Schools achieve their fundraising goals! We value partnering up with organizations that also echo our mission to 'Help, Promote and Enrich' both our community and employees."

"Several of our employees participate in events hosted by Communities in Schools to better their quality of life, but at the same time several of our employees help host and run these events helping their neighbor," Flores told the Houston Republic.

PJS has made an impact with CIS and also other groups. 

"PJS is always looking for ways to improve our relationship with our community, and we look towards our own staff to direct us where we can make the most impact," said Flores. "This is how we were also able to partner with Houston’s Centro de Corazon, sponsoring their annual food bank drive as well as its annual Holiday Posada, an event where each year they select a minimum of 120 kids from local low-income communities, and provide them Christmas toys, an opportunity to meet Santa, and raffles for parents."

CIS in Central Texas has an enormous impact. It serves 96 campuses, elementary, middle and high schools, in Austin, Bastrop, Elgin, Hays Consolidated, Lockhart, Manor and San Marcos ISDs, assisting over 40,000 individuals each year, Steinhauser said. 

The CIS affiliates in the Houston region are CIS of Houston, CIS of the Bay Area, CIS of Southeast Harris County, CIS of Galveston County and CIS of Brazoria County. 

"Community partners of all sorts help CIS to reach and support more students to succeed in school and in life and PJS is an outstanding example of a productive community partner," Steinhauser said.