Communities in Schools Jacksonville celebrates 30 years of changing students’ lives for the better

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Attending school during the COVID-19 pandemic has been much like a rollercoaster ride — full of ups and downs and unexpected turns — for students and their parents.

Some feared their students would fall behind, have to repeat a grade — or even drop out of school altogether.

Action News Jax Courtney Cole shows us a local organization dedicated to helping students overcome the challenges they face inside and outside of the classroom.

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“I’ve seen a lot of things that I probably shouldn’t have seen growing up,” said Dominic Cummings.

Cummings was raised in Springfield, on Jacksonville’s Eastside.

“The area of town I grew up in was heavily drug-ridden. Immersed in homelessness, prostitution. I remember drug dealers being directly across the street from my house,” Cummings explained.

Although the odds were stacked against Cummings, he told Cole that his mother wanted him and his siblings to have the chance to live a different life.

“So, she got us involved with organizations, such as Communities In Schools, the after-school program and things like that — to ensure that we had a chance, and we had an opportunity to be our best selves,” Cummings said.

Communities in Schools Jacksonville is a program committed to doing whatever it takes to make sure students succeed and don’t drop out of high school.

In 2020, a year full of unforeseen challenges, 98% of seniors in the program graduated.

Many of the students in the program face serious challenges like hunger and homelessness.

Leon Baxton, the CEO of the nonprofit, said he knows what it’s like to be in their shoes. That’s why he’s dedicated his life to helping them.

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Courtney Cole: “Leon, I want you to start off talking to me about how you ended up here? Because this is not just a position for you, but a calling.”

Leon Baxton: “Right, right. Well, you know growing up in New York City, and Harlem — I lost my mother to a heroin overdose of drugs, was placed in the custody of my grandmother who died two years later, we were on welfare, she passed at age 12. Two years later, I lost one of my favorite uncles and then another favorite uncle passed. And then my father drank himself to death.”

It was a really tough time in Baxton’s life.

But he said it was an after-school program that ended up changing everything.

“There was a lady named Claudine Howard. She took me in, gave me an after-school job, and became like a mother figure to me. Help me through high school and through college … So I said Claudine, what is it that you do? And she said I’m a social worker. I said, ‘that’s what I wanna do!’ I want to help kids that went through stuff like I did,” Baxton told Action News Jax Courtney Cole.

And that’s exactly what he’s been doing with CIS, for the last 30 years.

Courtney Cole: “Tell me about your relationship with Leon?”

Dominic Cummings: “I was a sixth-grader, 11 years old at Matthew W. Gilbert Middle School and it was a summer program. And I remember, he was the director, so it was a big deal! So he was coming through every classroom, kind of introducing himself and he steps to me — we were the same height at that time (*laughs*) — He steps to me, and he says you know, ‘hey how do you like communities in schools?’”

“I watched this young man and his family and he went on to high school. And I had the opportunity and the honor to attend his college graduation, to see that. And now to see him working as a banker, he won’t give me a loan, but that’s OK! Just teasing! And has a beautiful family. And he is what I call the return on investment!” Baxton said proudly.

While they have played different roles in each other’s lives, it’s because of this program they can now ultimately call each other friends.

“Thanks to communities in schools, Mr. Leon Baxton and so many others who has come — my wife, my children, I want to say that I am where I am today because of them,” Cummings said.

It is Baxton’s hope that he has many more years of helping other students reach their full potential.

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“CIS has worked with well over 100 and … We’re close to 120,000 students now since we hit 32 years. But Dominic is just an inspiration! He’s one of the reasons why I keep going! To see him and how he’s grown has just been magnificent!” Baxton exclaimed.

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