When I graduated college in 2018 I wasn't sure what my next steps should be. I had experience working with nonprofits before through internships but mainly behind a desk. I was passionate about educaiton and workign with youth so City Year seemed like a great place to start. I had lived in Virginia my whole life so I knew I wanted to move out of state to serve and felt drawn to Boston - even though I had never been to New England before registration day!

I served in a 4th grade classroom with the most postiive and selfless teacher who taught me so much about patience and treating each day as a fresh start. I served at the Henry Grew School in Hyde Park with an amazing team and supportive leadership - shout out to being team of the year in 2019! 

I'm so glad I took that leap of faith and now I've come back to work on staff as an Impact Manager working at the Mildred Elementary School in Mattapan. 

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.