City Year Boston's Ambassador Circle is a volunteer group of socially conscious and motivated young professionals who are dedicated to advancing the mission and values of City Year. We truly believe in the sentiment "It takes a village to raise a child, " and that we are all responsible for the success of our students here in Boston. 

We are working to raise $35,000 to support our teams of AmeriCorps members who will are serving in 25 Boston Public Schools this year. Each team will receive a budget of $1,400, which can be used to purchase supplies, put on school wide events, and purchase incentives for attendance and behavior initiatives. These funds will provide City Year Boston teams with the resources necessary to fully support the students, teachers, and staff during the 2020-2021 school year. 

Please consider supporting our Starry Night Campaign to help even more students in Boston Public schools get the assistance they deserve from our AmeriCorps members. 

"It is the shared values of the village, and the shared commitment to each child as a loved individual and future citizen, and the shared sense of collective responsibility that underscore the truth of why it takes a whole village to raise a child" 

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.