I am a proud City Year Boston Alumni. I started my journey at City Year almost 5 years ago as an AmeriCorps Member serving at Orchard Gardens K-8 Pilot School in Roxbury, Boston, MA. For a long time, I wanted to pursue a Master’s in Education, but I wasn't ready. That's when I decided to do City Year. I supported a 4th grade ELA classroom with 30 amazing students. I tutored and mentored these students; most of whom were English Language Learners. It was a challenging but rewarding year of service. However, it made me realize that teaching was not my thing...Good thing I decided to take a gap year instead of getting a masters. 

I came back to City Year as a Senior AmeriCorps Member serving on the Boston Civic Engagement team. We worked closely with Boston Public Schools and the community to develop needed physical service projects like painting, murals, and resource and supply kits. I loved being able to provide for students and the Boston community in this way. 

Now I proudly serve as the Volunteer Project Manager of the Boston Civic Engagement Team! Through City Year, I've really grown a lot as a person (personally and professionally). I found what I truly was passionate about. This was not at all what I thought I would be doing with my life but I'm very happy to be here and to have the opportunity to make a different in the lives of others. 

Right now, City Year is the only school partner that is supporting virtual classrooms and assisting teachers in navigating this new virtual learning space. When students do go back to school, they -and teachers- will need all the support we can give them.

Please consider donating to City Year Boston so that we can continue the work we do especially during this time!

In March, Boston Public Schools (BPS) announced the closure of all 125 schools citywide. These school closures left 50,000 Boston students without access to in-person schooling.  City Year Boston is working closely with BPS to provide innovative distance learning opportunities to students, adapting our Whole School Whole Child program model to suit virtual spaces.

While teachers continue to provide whole-class instruction using platforms like Google Classroom or Zoom, City Year’s AmeriCorps members are providing academic supports in English language arts/literacy and math by facilitating breakout groups, answering questions, and leading enrichment activities.  Our corps members are assisting teachers in planning lessons and reviewing students’ assignments and holding office hours to provide one-on-one and small-group tutoring.  Importantly, our AmeriCorps members are also supporting students’ social-emotional health and placing phone calls home to students and their families as a way to build connectedness, troubleshoot, and communicate updates. 

City Year Boston is one of the only partners to support Boston Public School students throughout the COVID-19 pandemic

City Year’s support of virtual classrooms is a pivotal step in preventing learning loss and generating opportunities for new learning, as well as ensuring greater equity of experience among families who may not otherwise have the ability to facilitate in-home instruction.  Beyond this school year, City Year will continue to engage in the virtual space to support BPS students and will be in schools next year to support students when they will need more than ever.