The Kids Make Me A Believer

Hello! I’m Abbey and I serve at City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley. I am a mid-year corps member so I came to California in early January. I had two weeks of training with one other mid-year at the office, and then started going to my elementary school full time after that. My day breaks down into a couple different parts. Team circle starts at 7:45 am, and by 8:30 am everything, from computers to chairs, needs to be set up for collaboration. I lead a room of twenty to thirty students while they complete an assignment for their teacher, and after twenty five minutes they rotate. That gets done at 10 am. I have one hour to prep for my tutor students. At 11 am I get my two fifth graders, and at 11:25 am I get my three fourth graders. At 12 pm I have recess duty, and then I can have lunch. After lunch, my time consists of team meetings and preparation for the after school program. I co-teach the writing portion of the literacy block. That starts at 3:05 pm, after my students have had a snack. The day ends at 6:15 pm with a final team circle where we debrief the day. In total, that makes ten and a half hours of service each day.

While the days are long, they are worth it. I’ve had a student cry because she was worried about joining our after school program and being away from her mom. She couldn’t calm down for the longest time. I talked to her about what I thought of the after school program and how many good things could happen if she joined and how she would be helping her mom out. I had her stay with me for the rest of that day, and then the next day checked in with her about 6 times. By the end of the second day she was fine, and she and I have had a special friendship ever since.

There’s also fantastic moments in tutoring where I’ve had students say, “Oh, I get it!” or where they’ve reached a personal goal with their literacy fluency and comprehension that they thought they’d never reach. I’ve had kids in my literacy block complain about how boring they found my class, but two days later make me a card telling me I was the best City Year member ever.

Service every school day is HARD. Don’t let anyone say it will be a breeze. But believe them, and believe me, when I say it’s possible to get through it, and that the kids make the hard times worth it. They make me believe I can do anything.

-Abbey Bailey, Corps Member, NVIDIA/Synopsys Team at A.J. Dorsa Elementary School

Spelling Bee

 

At A.J. Dorsa Elementary, where I serve, I saw that students do not have an annual school spelling bee. This seemed like a lost opportunity to build and sustain a culture of literacy, in addition to certain skills and traits. After all, a spelling bee injects a healthy level of competition and school pride that encourages students to practice academic and studying skills outside class. It also imparts valuable life lessons about how to perform in front of an audience, and handle failure or success with grace.

So, I decided in early-November to put together A.J. Dorsa’s first annual spelling bee. After advertising using various media, I held a written qualifier at the start of December at which approximately 125 students spanning first- and fifth- grade tentatively filed into the cafeteria to write down twenty five words I had practiced reading aloud. After identifying the top 25 scores, I announced the winners over the morning intercom – 12 fifth graders, 7 fourth graders, 5 third graders, and 1 second grader advanced. Later, I discovered that students could barely contain their nervous enthusiasm as I read the names.

Shortly before winter break, I explained the rules and procedures to those 25 students and ran a mock bee. I also gave them practice and challenge words to show them the difficulty and pacing to expect. Returning from break, I saw a slow yet inexorable build-up of excitement and anticipation among students, teachers, and staff. This energy spilled into the cafeteria the day of the bee, and I’m proud to say it was a success! The cafeteria was packed with students, friends, and family, and I could hear gasps when a student misspelled a word or when the field was narrowed to the final two. Eventually, a fifth grader prevailed, and I could not be more proud of her. In less than a month, she and the runner-up, a fourth grader, will be participating in the district-wide spelling bee. I look forward to encouraging them and, just as much, returning to Dorsa next year to, among other things, plan a bigger and better Spelling Bee!

-Scott Aguila, Corps Member, NVIDIA/Synopsys Team at A.J. Dorsa Elementary School 

Math in Real Life

The mathematics are distinguished by a particular privilege, that is, in the course of ages, they may always advance and can never recede.  ~Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

 Math is all around us – more so than we can begin to comprehend. The fundamental building blocks of the very computer on which you read this very blog post can be distilled to the mathematical binary of one and zero, the building blocks of the alphabet of computer language.

Monday the 15^th was Math in Real Life night at Horace Cureton Elementary School, an event that attempted to quash the all too common students’ lament, “but I’m never gonna need this in real life.”

Planned by Team Leader Carrie, students were divided into older and younger groups, transitioning with their parents from center to center. Children and adults alike were given the opportunity to see the importance and relevance of math in the world around them.

Younger students were treated to a color by numbers activity with the beloved Ms. Nia. Magical Mr. Carson increased length awareness by having students find items around the room by the measurements. And students combined practical skills and Common Core standards by having fun telling analog time with the effervescent Ms. Katie.

Older students were treated to the smooth, sultry voice of Mr. Ruben as he gave a practical dissertation on the intersection of mathematics and art. The brave Ms. Molly gave students a hands-on lesson in measurement by way of scavenger hunt. Lastly, students were treated to the smooth and stoic Mr. Ryan as he led students in an economics based board game designed by the nimble Ms. Carrie.

In algebra, X represents the unknown, and is the mystery to which we seek to find meaning. As we live and grow in our lives, we seek and make meanings in our own ways – we balance the equations in our lives to find our own X, our own meanings, and our own answers. X, though it represents the unknown, also marks the spot. After Math in Real Life, students and parents left with equipped with the tools to take their learning into their own hands – to see that math really is all around us.

-Ruben Raskin, Corps Member, Walmart Foundation Team at Horace Cureton Elementary School

United We Are

Relationships are at the core of everything we at City Year do. Whether we spend 10 hours together or 10 minutes, our fellow teammates and corps members are the life force of our social and work lives. We find ourselves eager to learn more about these people, and never fail to be awed, inspired, and proud of each person in the corps because of these exchanges. For every human interaction we have, we are slightly different individuals because of it. In a job where we have to make ourselves extremely vulnerable to be effective, we find that it is these corps members who have shaped us and our experience during our corps year, forever changing our perspective. For these reasons, I believe the relationships built within City Year are arguably the strongest relationships built in our young lives thus far.

City Year thrives off of the relationships corps members build with each other, our service partners, schools, teachers and communities. A year of service is, at times, positively grueling.  But the silver lining is that you are not going through it alone at any time. In San Jose, I have at least 67 other people who are going through it in my corps year, 8 additional people who have gone through it before in our senior corps, and 14 more people who see corps members go through it year after year in staff members. Across the City Year network, thousands of young idealists are getting similar experiences. That doesn’t include the principals who eagerly put us to work in their schools, the teachers who welcome us into their classrooms, the students who let us into their lives or the service partners and individuals who give to us because they see the value in our work time and time again. They care about us as individuals, and though our service begins and ends with the goal of increasing the chances of success for the students we serve, the relationships we build are arguably what help us provide such a high quality of service from start to finish.

-Cindee Crosby, Corps Member, Cisco Team at Cesar Chavez Elementary School

Mathson Debate Club

                 

We see students try to start arguments almost each and every day that we serve. They argue with teachers, peers, and City Year members. We countlessly try and defuse and deescalate these situations in an attempt to make everyone “get along”.

But how often are students ENCOURAGED to argue constructively by adults?

For two months this year, I ran a debate club with 6th-8th graders. In the club, students learned various concepts of debate including; proper public speaking techniques, debate format, respectful critiquing and much more.

For the final project of the club, students got into groups of 2-3 and had to take either for or against positions on topics. They were given two weeks to research and write speeches to support their positions. One of the topics was “should there be a City Year?”.

The rest speaks for itself…

Topic #1: Should City Year be in your school?

Response #1: “City Year should not be banned because kids get a lot of help from City Year (they help the kids on projects, homework and other stuff), City Year help kids get prepared on the star test and CST, they give us snack so we could not be hungry, they care about us, it’s a free program, they give us free time to play, in Friday we do clubs, we have amazing parties (we have better snacks and we have raffels), we have laptops so we could learn more mathamatics, I know people don’t like City Year because you have to stay for 3 hours but actually the City Year people help you learn.  If you are in City Year you will be save until one of your family picks you up from City Year, and if you are in your house by yourself probally a stranger could get in your house.”

-Jackson Young, Corps Member, Applied Materials Team at Lee Mathson Middle School 

Building the Perfect Resume at Comcast Career Day

By:Cameron Ziomber, 1st year Corps Member serving on the Chevron Team at Clyde Arbuckle Elementary School

On Friday, March 15, 2013, the members of City Year San Jose partnered up with Comcast for their annual Comcast Career Day. It was a unique opportunity for members of City Year to explore future opportunities and gain valuable career tips from experienced professionals. A recipe for future success, all wrapped up in a one package deal!

Upon our bright and early arrival, we were welcomed and treated to a tasty breakfast. Comcast kicked the day off with a brief video emphasizing the importance of City Year and Comcast’s commitment to our program.  At this point, I had finished my coffee and was completely engaged. As I sat amongst fellow corps members, not knowing exactly what to expect, I was intrigued by our first speaker’s introduction. He gave us some surprising statistics on the professional value of social media. As I continued to listen, I learned a lot about the virtual world of business. His ideas about staying in touch with a business’ goals and missions by following a CEO’s twitter feed will be useful when I start interviewing.

As our day transpired, we heard more from many other Comcast professionals. They provided key insight on some of the many components needed to start a successful career! Engaging dialog accompanied by PowerPoint presentation helped me get a new sense of what business culture can look like. The next section was all about interviews. This section highlighted the professional Do’s and Don’ts that are essential for emerging from an interview without needing a business based band- aid.

Next, was “The Comcastic Resume Workshop”. I found this part of the day to be most beneficial. Without having very many professional experiences, my resume writing skills were a bit on the inexperienced side. I have always known the importance of having a strong resume to grab the attention of future employers but never really knew what the “perfect resume” would look like. This workshop was very useful in providing ideas about how to frame a resume. By utilizing these ideas and pointers, I am more confident in my ability to write a resume that will win!

The final part of the day was my favorite part. I was given an opportunity to look into some different types of positions that potential employers have to offer. I had the choice of which Comcast employees I wanted to sit down with. It was interesting to see and hear from workers of different professional backgrounds. The personalized advice and professional insights that I received will certainly be useful in creating career goals of my own. We chatted with our Comcast representatives over yummy sandwiches and spoke of various things. The one on one conversations were a great way for me to find out where to start and added a special quality of personal touch to my day!

I now have a new sense of what a career in business can look like. I am glad that I was able to participate and can walk away with new ideas of how to plan, explore and start my own career after City Year!

Comcast Career Day

By: Jackson Young

There are many different sponsors of City Year who make the work we do possible, but seldomly throughout our corps year are we given the opportunity to meet the people whom the various corporations are composed of. When I was told about Comcast Career Day, I was excited at the concept of visiting one of our largest sponsors and expected that it would be a great opportunity for networking and future career plans.

The day ended up being so much more than just that.

I entered under the incorrect assumption that this career day was for the San Jose/Silicon Valley site alone and that the day was an event hosted by our local Comcast branch. After receiving brief welcomes and introductions from the heads of the Human Resources department, we were shown a brief video from the Comcast corporate office in Philadelphia. Various Comcast members thanked City Year for the work we have done, and one even donned a City Year bomber! The most striking part of the video to me was the knowledge that 12 other City Year sites were experiencing a Comcast Career Day at the same time as the San Jose site. I felt a strong sense of unity with the other sites in this instant, because though we may be hundreds or even thousands of miles apart, we were all sharing a day of appreciation and career assistance.

We were treated to a variety of different trainings throughout the morning, including proper use of social networking, interview preparation, and resume writing. Throughout the morning, it was apparent the high level of investment Comcast held in our future career plans and concerns, frequently allowing for questions and giving advice from a variety of perspectives. It was made clear that if there was anything we needed, they would do anything in their power to help.

After the trainings were complete, we broke into smaller groups based on our preferences to converse with members of various different departments, including operations, HR, sales, public relations, engineering and several others. This provided an excellent platform for discussion about career struggles and successes and how to face situations as they arise. In each group, the department representatives showed a fervent interest in corps members and genuinely wanted to know more about us. These smaller sessions contributed greatly to the personal nature of the day.

Career day at Comcast ended up being so much more than a networking day. It provided a sense of unity and cohesion- not just between the 13 City Year sites participating but also between corps members and members of Comcast. The fact that Comcast puts in so much thought and effort into hosting an annual event for City Year is a testament to the direct and tangible impact that can be seen from our presence within communities. The sincere, caring, and altruistic people that make up one of our largest sponsors were revealed, sharing with City Year a common goal of making a difference and changing the world.

Why I Serve

by: Neil Shah

My name is Neil Shah and I proudly serve at Clyde Fischer Middle School along side of 10 other corps members. Together, we support approximately 550 students during the daily school hours and provide 1-on-1 tutoring interventions for specific “Focus List” students to help them reach benchmark levels. Once the day has ended, we provide an academically-focused after school program for about 150 students reinforcing math and literacy skills learned during the school day and enrichment classes ranging from health to hip-hop.

I don’t personally have a story of struggle or pain that I have experienced that has led me down a path of service. Instead, I have a rational and whole-hearted belief in the power of education due to my upbringing. My grandfather, who was uneducated, saved every penny he ever earned in order to send his 5 children to the best school in Mumbai. He believed that it was necessary to make sacrifices in order to have faith in the results that followed. Today because of his sacrifices, all of his children are now physicians practicing in the United States. In such a competitive world, education is a priority because it allows one to control and leverage their futures while developing as competent and insightful people.

I am originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan where I attended the University of Michigan and received my Bachelor’s in Biopsychology and Medical Anthropology. I then went on to obtain my Master’s in Physiology and Biophysics. I hope to pursue a career in medicine in the near future. This year, I have decided to deviate from this “written” path and serve as an educator. The reason I have found success in my education is because of the teachers I’ve had that took an interest in me. They were able to pinpoint my strengths and push me down a focused and rigorous path because they understood my fascination with certain educational material. They provided structure, discipline, and true instruction that developed my character and cultivated my interest in science. I now hope to instill a sense of drive in the students we serve while also fostering a sensitive and caring environment so that struggling students feel safe to make mistakes and try. I tell my students that in order to succeed one must experience failure.

One of my intensive math students, David, was an 8th grader performing below 4th grade level and struggled with basic multiplication. He was known as a bad student last year; throwing cherry bombs in bathroom stalls, tipping desks over in class, and fighting with students. He was transferred to another math class because of an issue with his previous teacher. I told him before we entered a tutor session that I wanted him to work hard and do his best in order to truly see what he could accomplish. I encouraged him to be an independent thinker, make decisions, and voice his opinion about things. Now, whenever I walk into the classroom he gets up, pushes in his chair, and shakes my hand respectfully before each tutor session. He recently approached me and said, “I’m interested in art and architecture but don’t understand why math is important.” I responded by introducing the concept of the Cartesian plane and graphing points. Using just coordinates, he was able to generate his own blueprints. I am proud to say he has raised his failing grade to a C and is on his way to catching up with his classmates.

City Year provides the perfect avenue to have direct access to student potential and allow them to take chances, explore themselves, and give them space to dream. As a student, David has the ability to succeed locked inside of him. Now, he can take solace in the fact that the yellow jackets will always be there to push him to the limits and lend a hand, just in case his faith in his abilities ever waivers.

Mid-year Breakthrough

By: Tom Bentley

The start of the year was not that great for one of my third graders, Eva. I would see her during tutoring sessions, my math class after school, as well as my after school homework center and she made it known that she did not like the new city year people or the classes we were teaching. The first two weeks of our tutoring sessions would consist of me asking her questions and her giving me very brief responses. I  started to think to myself “How am I going to get this third grader who is only reading forty-one words per minute up to grade level (one-hundred words per minute) when she won’t even tell me more than five words about herself?”

After those first two weeks, I knew that something had to change. I worked tirelessly at making every tutoring session an incredibly positive experience for Eva. I made a special effort to notice and praise her for every little thing she did correctly. As time passed, I saw her confidence build, not only based on her test scores but in the way she behaved. She was much more comfortable around me and seemed to trust me a lot more. I still remember the day she asked me to start calling her a new name, Jack, and how happy she was that we could do something playful like giving each other nicknames.

As our relationship developed, I started playing with her at recess and showing her that I am more than just someone who is going to help her with school work. Soon she was coming into the City Year room some mornings to say hi and hang out before school. She started eating lunch with me one or two times a week where she would tell me everything about her day. Within the first few months at school I felt we really had a strong connection. She started sharing a lot more with me about her family, her life at home, and even the boy she likes at school.

Now things are much different from the beginning of the year, not only between Jack and me, but also who she is as a person. She likes school and City Year a lot more. She has almost doubled her literacy score, reading eighty words per minute during the last testing session, and is on track to finish the year above grade level. Every day she comes to school with a smile on her face, eager to learn. While I have worked on a lot with her, I do not think there is anything more rewarding to me than the fact that when my service is over, I know that she will still be coming to school with that same smile, eager to learn.

A Day in the Life of Katie

By Katie Muller
“I read the news today oh, boy
About a lucky man who made the grade.”
–The Beatles

The day begins at 7:50, when our corps of seven circles as part of the Wal-Mart Foundation Horace Cureton Elementary School Team. We complete the readiness check to ensure we are all ready for the day with our proper uniforms on, our heads are screwed on tight, and our energy gauges are on high. “You got your closed-toed boots?” our team leader shouts. “La tarea!” the team replies. In an effort to learn more Spanish, each day we learn a new word for our callback. Next, the team strolls to the front to high five students as they arrive. “Good morning, have a terrific Tuesday!” Getting the kids excited to come learn never gets old. One of the 2nd graders from my Planetary Observers Enrichment makes my day by handing me a picture he drew of the solar system. The planets are in order, approximately to scale, labeled 1 through 9 and there is a note that says #9 (Pluto) is not a planet. Two weeks after our Pluto Planet Debate and he still remembers!

At 8:25 it’s time for morning rally. After reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and the Peace Builder’s Pledge, a corps member comes to the front to lead a song and dance number. Today it is Miss Molly’s turn and she does not disappoint with her rendition of “Boom Chicka Boom.”

By 9:00 I’ve already started to prep for next week. Like every week, it’s a busy one! My list for things due Sunday morning is extensive, but if all this forethought helps raise my students closer to grade level, I’m more than happy.

At 11:00 it’s time to tutor my intensive group of third graders who have yet to master the first grade reading level. Most students at Cureton speak Spanish at home, so reading in English without supported practice from family members is challenging. Today we learned about rhythm and its importance in reading. At the end of our 25-minute session, I test them to monitor whether they are closer to their mid-year fluency and comprehension mid-year goals. Good news! All of my students have made considerable progress.

At 2:30 it’s time for after school. During literacy’s read aloud, my co-leader Mr. Ruben and I read Clifford’s first Halloween. Following the read aloud, the students complete activities encouraging phonics, grammar, and comprehension.
Around 6, a student tells me what she learned today. “In literacy, I learned that even if you have a disagreement with a friend, you can still fix things up and be great friends afterwards.” All in a day’s work.

Once the last student is picked up, closing circle begins at 6:30 where we all debrief the day. Time for some rest…tomorrow is going to be another busy one!