“Be cool, stay in school” was a motto touted by nearly every Hollywood celebrity on every show, billboard and book in the 1980s and 90s. As the dropout rate began to escalate, educators enlisted the influential help of the Hollywood elite to tell their fans of the importance of finishing high school.

These days Communities in Schools, a statewide non-profit organization, enlists the help of community leaders and volunteers to help give students a reason to stay in school.

“Communities in Schools is a stay-in-school program that helps all students graduate from high school and be prepared for any experience they might encounter after high school,” Jayme Elliott, executive director of Catoosa Communities in Schools, said.

CIS strives to help children from the time they are born until they graduate high school, Elliott said.

“There are several different programs designed to target each age group, starting from zero,” she said.

The program starts with the Parents as Teachers program for children birth through three-years-old.

“This program’s philosophy is that parents are their children’s best teachers,” Elliott said.

Parents as Teachers assigns a professionally trained parent educator to visit children at their homes to work with them to improve brain development. This year, Parents as Teachers became partially funded through United Way of Greater Chattanooga, Elliott said.

“We are very excited about this because this is one of only four new agencies that is funded through United Way, and this money also allows us to keep the program going,” she said.

The program also welcomes a new parent educator, Tammie Walker.

After the children enter school, Communities in Schools assigns a VISTA tutor to children who have trouble reading.

“Studies show that children who can’t read well by the third-grade are more likely to drop out later,” Elliott said.

Both Graysville Elementary and Cloud Springs Elementary operate the VISTA program, and 92.3 percent of students at the schools improved their reading skills, Elliott said.

A reading program for all grades

Another program designed to help children learn better reading habits is the Reading is Fundamental program. With money from the federal government, RIF has distributed more than 1,000 books to students at Graysville Elementary, Cloud Springs Elementary and Boynton Elementary, Elliott said.

“These books were given to the students for them to keep forever,” she said.

Additionally, the funding also provided for the Catoosa Crossroads Academy to have a lending library, Elliott said.

In the middle school, the program works with Partnership 2000 to recruit caring adults to mentor students. Through this program, 80 percent of middle school students improved their reading habits, and there was a 100-percent increase in attendance, Elliott said.

“These are students who need this consistent encouragement from a caring adult,” she said.

On the high school level, the program works to give students an incentive to stay in school. CIS honors a Student of the Month throughout the school year, and encourages students to participate in the Student Achievement Month contest. This year, two Catoosa students won the contest at the state level. The prize, a new computer, was given to winners Kaise Ray of Ringgold High School and Peyton Mayes of Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School.

“Students across Georgia expressed how Communities in Schools helped them gain an understanding of academic achievement and the importance of staying in school,” Elliott said.

High school students are also able to use the Bridges Lab at Ringgold High School. By participating in focusing and memory exercises, these students improve their cognitive thinking and perception, Elliott said, noting that 79 percent of those who participated in the Bridges Lab improved their math scores, and 83 percent improved their language scores.

Sight for Students, an additional CIS program available to all county students, provides a free eye examination and a free pair of glasses, if needed, for students who don’t have insurance coverage.

Community support

Through CIS efforts, Catoosa County’s dropout rate has decreased from 8.2 percent in 2001 to 6.5 percent in 2002, Elliott said. To make these numbers a reality, many people in the community give not only their money, but also their time, she said.

“Without the financial support of our community leaders, we wouldn’t be able to get out there and help as many people as we have,” she said.

Last year, Danny Flowers and his staff at Capital Bank sponsored a Sing Station for American Idols of Catoosa County. The event raised $2,500 for CIS. This year, Gateway Bank is sponsoring a 5K run through Ringgold on April 17 to raise funds for CIS. The prize is a television donated by the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Department. Last year, the run raised more than $11,000 to help students stay in school and is the program’s largest sponsor, Elliott said.

Another event that will raise money for the program this year is the Great Golf Ball Drop at the American Junior Golf Association golf tournament June 6-10. The drop, sponsored by Ringgold Telephone Co., will have a plane drop golf balls onto a green. The person whose ball drops in the hole will win $25,000. To enter the contest, balls can be purchased for $25 each.

Elliott can’t say enough about the CIS sponsors and their help.

“Every little bit helps keep kids in school,” she said. “It has been six years since we started Communities in Schools, and we have made significant improvements. All of us are working together to make a big difference.