If you walked into the library a few weeks ago, you may have noticed the large stack of board games that filled the room. The Myers Park community came together and donated 1,000 games to a local organization called “Furnish For Good.” The games will go to families who are going through housing transitions. This successful drive was run by the MPHS Furnish For Good Club and the Myers Park Chapter of Communities in Schools (CIS), and the board game drive is just one example of the impact CIS has had here as a key part of Myers Park.
Communities in Schools is a national organization all over the United States. The purpose of CIS is to provide one-on-one relationships and support students who might not have access to certain resources and support. CIS has aimed to bring together the school and outside communities by bringing in resources to aid and help students on their education journey.
At Myers Park, we are lucky to have two great site coordinators, Olivia Hughes who specializes in youth development, and Stacey Weinstein, who focuses on education and career development. Mrs. Weinstein and Ms. Hughes sat down with the Myers Park Hoofprint to give an inside look into CIS here at Myers Park. Currently, CIS at Myers Park supports over 200 students as “resources for students and staff across campus,” said Hughes. CIS works directly with a portion of our students at MPHS, but CIS is continuing to leave an impact on the Myers Park Community as a whole. CIS is an outside organization not directly related to CMS which has allowed Weinstein and Hughes to “have a ton of creativity and bring a lot of things to this school that you can’t get if you’re a teacher or a counselor,” said Weinstein. CIS has the freedom to do so much more from supporting staff to bringing in outside resources or doing things such as the board game drive. Weinstein added, “We are an added layer they otherwise would not have for support or to bring in opportunities to the kids, we are here to enhance and support”.
This creative freedom has allowed CIS to step up and play a role in different service initiatives and support initiatives seen around the Park. This year, CIS was responsible for the successful board game drive, and last year, CIS ran a book drive. They partnered with “She Built This City,” which is an outside non-profit organization, along with communities on campus such as the National Honor Society and Swim and Dive. CIS collected the books and then built six community libraries in neighborhoods surrounding MPHS that have low reading scores. They also donated some books to Bruns Elementary, which led to a reunion for Mrs. Weinstein, “When I went to Bruns Elementary, their librarian was a former CIS student at Myers Park High School who worked with me.” The drive also inspired one former CIS student to do a similar drive with his Fraternity at NC A&T. Weinstein describes it as “a total ripple effect.” This drive represents everything CIS does here at MPHS. CIS makes a direct impact on students’ education, brings different communities together and it leaves lasting impacts on the students for the rest of their lives. CIS is also responsible for support initiatives such as the Kindness Cards students write for teachers around Thanksgiving every year. “It’s something I look forward to, and teachers look forward to, it helps to build that community,” added Hughes.
CIS is deeply rooted within our MPHS community and has been for a long time, one of the former MPHS CIS coordinators was our very own Principal Mr. Folk, showing the community and connection CIS creates and brings to Myers Park year after year.