With City Year, we are full-time volunteers placed in high-needs schools. Working with my team of eight corps members, I:
- Tutor: I work in ninth-grade and eleventh-grade English classes. In each class, I have 'focus students' that I provide extra support. I also teach lessons and assist the teachers. After school, we run a homework help room where we tutor any student in all subjects.
- Mentor: I meet with select students once a week during lunch to motivate them to improve their behavior. I lead discussions and activities designed to help them assess their behavior, set goals, and celebrate their achievements in developing into a leader.
- Events and Outreach Coordinator: Each team member has a specific responsibility, and mine is to organize events to showcase the students and strengthen the school community. I also put together our monthly newsletter and work to "get our school and team out there" by connecting with community leaders.
- Love Them. Enough said.
General Schedule:
5:30 - Good morning!
6:00 - Leave for school.
7:00 - Arrive at school, get organized for the day.
7:30 - Morning greeting (greet students, invite them to the gym to hang out and play basketball to wake up and get refreshed).
Morning - Work in freshmen and junior English classes (small-group assistance, one-on-one writing conferences, leading grammar mini-lessons, redirecting behavior, etc).
Lunch - Behavior coaching sessions/Leadership Lunches with small groups of freshmen (discussions and activities to encourage them to reflect on their goals, actions, and progress).
Afternoon - Work time (call families to update them, plan events for the school, grade work, prepare Leadership Lunches, invite external guests, call businesses to ask for donations, create Service Briefing newsletter, etc).
3:00 - 5:00 - Homework Help (tutoring available to all students... some students come every day simply to enjoy our company and keep themselves occupied).
5:00 - 6:00 - Team Meeting (discuss progress and plan new initiatives, such as the latest VIP lounge to honor improved students and our new Art Club).
7:00 - Arrive home OR arrive at the office to keep working until 8 or 9 or 10.
Why The Uniform?
- Safety: I'd look out of place going into the communities we serve, but when I'm decked out with an American flag on my jacket, no one thinks twice.
- Unity: It is pretty cool to see 17,000 people across 20 U.S. cities, London, and Johannesburg who do the same thing I do wearing the same thing. Also, since there is a near-complete turn-over every year, it helps the new incoming members gain instant recognition and credibility by students and staff.
- Shapelessness: I don't think this is an official reason, but having pants that come up to your belly button really does reduce the number of students that hit on you.
- Visibility: One of City Year's missions is to spread national service so it becomes the norm. It's easy to initiate a conversation with a stranger on the el about the power of service when they ask why you're wearing a giant red jacket. And it's cool when you randomly run into alumni. :-)
