Creating Community
When Zowee Strong graduated from Cedar Shoals High School in 2014, she didn’t realize the impact she would have on students at Cedar Shoals 12 years later. Now, as one of two Communities in Schools Coordinators, she hopes to be the support person she didn’t have.
“I want to help Cedar be the school that I didn’t necessarily have, while also keeping the same culture, because I’ve always been a proud alumni. I want to be that person that wasn’t there when I was here,” Strong said.
Along with newly hired Allyson Mauldin, the two CIS coordinators, provide further support for students and school programs. The job involves creating a welcoming environment for students and parents.
“We operate like counselors, mentors and a little bit of social worker stuff in there. Basically, we wear many hats,” Mauldin said. “A lot of parents don’t have friendly relationships with school staff, and so part of my job for my caseload is to build a relationship with the parents to inform them how their student is doing.”
The coordinators help plan and execute schoolwide events and incentives to motivate students to thrive academically.
“As part of being a site coordinator with CIS, we have tier one events that are open to the entire school. So we collaborate a lot with PBIS (Positive Behavior Incentives and Support). We help with those perfect attendance events like the ice cream social this year,” Strong said.
When working with students, CIS coordinators look at three things: attendance, behavior and academics.
“We identify students who are struggling in at least one of those three areas, and we come up with support to correct those things and get them on a better track,” Mauldin said.
Being able to interact and have a good relationship with both students and staff is one of Mauldin’s favorite aspects of her job. She loves knowing that she has made a difference in a student’s life, even if it is small.
“My favorite part is when (students) come to my classroom randomly just to tell me something good that happened in their day. I really like that I’ve built that relationship,” Mauldin said. “We want to build those relationships so that they are comfortable coming to us and visa-versa, especially with the counseling team. We have really good working relationships with (students).”
Similarly, Strong most enjoys creating bonds with the students and seeing familiar faces in the halls.
“I get to meet so many students, and even if they’re not on my caseload, just simply being out in the hallway and always being seen and creating those relationships with different types of students is one of the best things ever,” Strong said.
Strong wants to help make sure that students’ personal challenges do not play a part in their chance at success.
“A lot of families and students don’t have the same opportunities or privileges as others may have. What I like about our vision with CIS is that we try our best to level the playing field for everyone,” Strong said.
Ultimately, Mauldin’s goal is to help the students reach their own goals, see all of their options and have access to them to succeed.
“If your goal is academic, then (there is) the tutoring, the credit recovery process, the Saturday school. There’s always some kids where the resources they need are basic needs, like food or clothing. We each have a budget to work with for the school year, but we also get a lot of donations,” Mauldin said.
