As organizations working alongside Ohio students, families, and schools, Say Yes! Cleveland and Communities In Schools of Ohio (CIS) see every day that student success is shaped by far more than what happens inside the classroom.
Across Ohio, schools and families are navigating growing challenges related to chronic absenteeism, mental health and social-emotional well-being, basic needs, housing instability, transportation, and family engagement. These challenges are interconnected.
A student who is missing school may also be experiencing housing instability, transportation barriers, unmet health needs, or other circumstances that make it difficult to consistently engage in school.
We are seeing increased demand for coordinated supports that address these barriers before they become even greater obstacles to student success. At the same time, our organizations are seeing the impact that coordinated, school-based supports can have when students and families are connected to the right resources at the right time.
During the 2025-26 school year, CIS of Ohio served more than 21,000 students across 46 schools, including over 2,600 case-managed students who received individualized support. Among students receiving CIS support, 81% met or made progress toward their attendance goals, 82% met or made progress toward their academic goals, and 84% met or made progress toward their behavior goals. Additionally, 90% of our case-managed seniors graduated on time.
During the 2025–26 school year, Say Yes! Cleveland's Family Support Specialists served more than 18,600 students throughout 112 schools. Our team made more than 13,300 referrals for over 8,600 students, resulting in 12,239 successfully connected referrals, and a 92% successful connection rate. Say Yes! connected more than 8,200 students to food, housing stability, mental health support, and other supports by engaging more than 240 community partners.
These experiences reflect a broader reality: students and families increasingly need coordinated support to remain engaged in school, overcome barriers, and take advantage of opportunities after graduation.
At the same time, organizations like ours providing these supports are facing capacity challenges. Workforce recruitment and retention, rising demand, administrative requirements, and fragmented funding streams can make it harder to respond quickly and consistently to the needs schools and families are identifying. Resource constraints have meant making difficult decisions about where we can place our teams and provide direct support, even as schools continue to identify significant needs around attendance, academics, behavior, and basic needs.
Ohio’s next governor can help by making it easier for schools, families, and community organizations to work together.
Recommendations
- Strengthen school-community partnerships by supporting evidence-informed approaches that place trusted professionals in schools and connect students and families to coordinated services.
- Better align state funding and programs so organizations spend less time navigating fragmented systems and more time serving students and families.
- Strengthen the youth-serving workforce through strategies that support recruitment, retention, professional development, and sustainable career pathways.
- Improve the use of data across systems to identify students who need support earlier and measure whether interventions are improving attendance, academic outcomes, student well-being, and family stability.
- Include community organizations in state policy development so policies affecting young people are informed by organizations working directly with students and families.
Every Ohio student deserves the opportunity to be present, engaged, and successful in school. Helping students reach that potential requires more than any one school, agency, or organization can provide alone. It requires strong schools, engaged families, and community partners working together around the young person.
We look forward to working with Ohio's next Governor and state leaders to strengthen that network and ensure every young person has the opportunity to stay on track, overcome barriers, and succeed.
Sincerely,
Derrick Fulton, Executive Director, Say Yes Cleveland
Adero Robinson, Chief Executive Officer, Communities In Schools of Ohio
