Links To Success

Links to Success is a Trident United Way (TUW) collaboration in which CIS staff serves as Integrated Services Providers, coordinating the services of Linking Partners funded by the TUW. The Links To Success sites for the 2012-2013 school year include:

-Chicora Elementary

-Goodwin Elementary

-James Simons Elementary

-Mary Ford Elementary

-Memminger Elementary

-North Charleston Elementary

-Sanders-Clyde Elementary/Middle

-Sedgefield Intermediate

-St. Stephen Elementary

-St. Stephen Middle

Linking Partner Services

Outstanding Programs with Great Outcomes

AmeriCorps Financial Stability Project - AmeriCorps members work collaboratively with Site Coordinators and school personnel to serve as Family Navigators, with a focus on engaging parents, by providing resources they need to mitigate financial or family crisis and become financially stable.

Charleston County School District – Adult Education - CCSD Adult Education offers parents/adult caregivers of children receiving LINKS services programs to enhance their basic education; prepare for the GED exam; obtain knowledge and skills for employment (Work Keys) and/or improve their English Language skills (ESL).

Charleston Dorchester Mental Health – Behavioral Health Services - A full-time mental health worker on staff at a school site is available to support students and their families who are in need of mental health services.

Charleston Volunteers for Literacy Book Buddies - Book Buddies is an intensive literacy support program that focuses on promoting grade level reading proficiency through individual instruction prepared and overseen by a certified reading teacher and delivered in his/her presence by trained volunteers.

Children In Crisis / Dorchester Children’s Center – A certified Nurturing Parenting instructor, who is also a credentialed social worker, meets with referred parents individually for 90 minute sessions for 12 consecutive weeks. The Nuturing Parent Program includes: building a relationship (with your child) for life; positive communication; positive development; empathy; establishing nurturing routines and promoting your child’s social and school success. 

Communities In Schools Reading Soul Mates - Reading Soul Mates is a reading intervention for 1^st grade students promoting mastery of Dolch sight words, as well as a service learning strategy for 5^th grade students who pair up with a younger child to assist them with selected readings, mastery of the 133 sight words, and completing a worksheet or project related to the story they read together.

Dee Norton Lowcountry Children’s Center - The Child Abuse School Liaison program is a comprehensive professional development training and school consultation program designed to provide educators with information to increase recognition and prevention of child abuse as well as trauma informed classroom management tools to provide support for child success.

Junior Achievement Financial Literacy and Work Readiness - Junior Achievement provides applied learning presentations in three core business areas: Education, Youth Development and Economic Development.  Programs are correlated to the SC Teaching Standards for Social Studies, Language Arts and Mathematics for grades K-8.

Lowcountry Food Bank Backpack Buddies - This is a weekend nutrition program that provides a backpack with nutritious snacks to supplement nutrition for children living in homes with food insecurity.

The Healing Species – Compassion Education and Violence Prevention - The Healing Species provides an 11 week compassion education and violence prevention program for   4^th grade students during once weekly classroom sessions presented by Healing Species staff and centered around student interaction with a certified therapy dog that is also a rescue animal.

Tri-county Family Ministries – Parents make an emergency assistance request through the ISP site coordinator who works with the parent and the FSP AmeriCorp member to complete a needs assessment, Benefit Bank screening, Charity Tracker screening and referral to TFM for emergency assistance.

Windwood Farm Home for Children – Family Services School -Based Counseling - Child therapy, crisis management, behavior modification, psycho-social and life-skills education; parent/family therapy and support services are offered by licensed clinicians with a focus on reducing behaviors that interfere with academic success.

WINGS for Kids After School Program - WINGS delivers a social and emotional educational program to elementary school children in the after school setting running 3 hours per day, 5 days per week, 35 weeks per year.