2. The Basics
CIS of Chicago accepts community partners on a rolling
basis. Partners should be able to provide quality programs
and services that address identified areas of need among
our school network that can also be provided at no cost to
the school or students.
3. Step 1:
CIS of Chicago and prospective partner schedule a
meeting to discuss specifics of partnership and available
programming.
This meeting may include such questions as:
• Who does your program serve? i.e. grade levels, geographic
areas
• What are your program objectives?
• How do you assess your program?
• What is your capacity to serve CIS of Chicago schools?
• Can your program successfully serve diverse learners?
• What are your needs?
Contact us here to schedule a meeting with a CIS of Chicago
staff member
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4. Step 2:
CIS of Chicago arranges a program observation and
shares feedback.
In an effort to be the best ambassador to your program, CIS of
Chicago partnership specialist(s) will set up a time to observe your
program (if appropriate). It helps us in the process of creating a
referral to best represent your work and for us to bring your referral
to life to our team and schools.
After the observation, CIS of Chicago will provide feedback based on
the Universal Core Competencies.
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5. Step 3
Partner signs biannual community partner agreement
The agreement is a nonbinding document that briefly describes how we will
work together to ultimately ensure program quality and meet expressed
student and school needs.
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6. Step 4
CIS of Chicago staff member and partner collaborate on a
referral to be sent to schools.
Barring any program concerns, you and your partnership specialist
will draft a referral. The program referral is a document that CIS of
Chicago partner schools use to determine if the available program is
a good fit for their school and students. It includes information such
as:
• Service Type
• Service Format
• Grades Served
• Number of Sessions
• Program Overview
• Location
• How to Schedule
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7. Step 5
CIS of Chicago shares your program referral with schools
that have an expressed need for your program
Our partner schools work closely with their partnership specialist to define
what their school and students need and build important relationships. Your
program referral will be shared specifically with the schools that have
communicated the need for your type of programming.
If you have specific needs and considerations in terms of which schools
within our network you would like your referral shared with, the CIS of
Chicago team will work to ensure that is the case.
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8. Ongoing Support
CIS of Chicago and community partners stay in regular
contact to maintain support and resources to continue to
improve programming and increase impact.
Throughout the school year CIS of Chicago offers five/six NAVIGATE
trainings on a variety of subjects that are free to community partners.
Community partners are also able to have their program observed by a CIS
of Chicago staff member to receive feedback and share best practices.
Some important pieces of information to be sure to share with your
partnership specialist include:
• Schools you have scheduled with
• Students you served
• If you’ve reached capacity
• If you have other no-cost programs to provide to CIS of Chicago partner
schools
• If you have additional capacity or are interested in hearing from additional
schools
• Your needs for resources, collaborations or additional support
• Your success stories!
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