Ep 54: Frank Brown on Creating a Community of Support for At-Risk Students

<p>How can we bridge the gap and bring equality to education in America? How has COVID impacted students who live in low income areas? What can we do?</p> <p>My guest today, Frank Brown, heads up an organization that is answering the call for how to help those students who are most at-risk for falling behind and not graduating high school. He is Chief Executive Officer of Communities In Schools of Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta was deemed the income inequality capital two years in a row, prior to Covid. This inequality leads to many more problems, including: housing insecurity, inequality in educational opportunities and lack of appropriate health care.<br /> <br /> Communities In Schools (CIS) of Atlanta is an award-winning dropout prevention organization that was established in Atlanta, Georgia in 1972. What began in the basement of a modest home in the Grant Park community is now the nation’s largest dropout prevention network with a proven track record of positively impacting graduation rates. Their mission is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.<br /> <br /> Listen in to hear how CIS is making such a positive impact in Atlanta and throughout the country and how we can get involved supporting such an important mission.<br /> <br /> Notable Quotes:<br /> <br /> "I tell my team, if we get it right in Atlanta, it’s a blueprint for the rest of the country, the world, on how to deal with some of the poorest people in this country and get them to become full participants in the American dream."<br /> <br /> "There was a report that came out in Atlanta that said only 3 out of 10 black kids will be proficient in reading and math after Covid, that’s 30%. We are talking about whole generations lost."<br /> <br /> "Sometimes people look at poverty, and look at people we serve as inanimate objects. They are human beings, they have dreams and aspirations just like you and I and they want to make clear choices, but there's systematic racism and all types of bar