1 Month of Tutoring for 463 South Bronx Students

Summary

AmeriCorps members tutor one-on-one and in small groups during school hours and lead out-of-class activities that complement school instruction. Through focused literacy tutoring, working directly with each student to address their individual literacy needs, our AmeriCorps members help students get back on track to reading at grade level.

What is the issue, problem, or challenge?

Every 26 seconds a student gives up on school, resulting in more than one million American high school students who drop out every year. The South Bronx has a graduation rate of 49%, and 59% of children under the age of 18 living in households with incomes below the Federal Poverty Level (the highest percentage in New York City).

How will this project solve this problem?

City Year New York (CYNY) is dedicated to improving educational outcomes for low-income youth in four of New York City's poorest communities. Through our in-school and afterschool programs, full-time CYNY AmeriCorps Members (young leaders between the ages of 17 to 24 who dedicate a year of their lives to full-time service) offer tutoring, mentoring, social support, and engaging activities to improve attendance, behavior, course performance, and civic involvement among elementary and middle schools.

In the South Bronx, City Year New York works with eight elementary and middle schools, supporting students in grades 3-8. These schools are: Middle School 302, Intermediate School 123, Public School 130, Public School 154, Public School 48, Public School 75, Public School 55, Intermediate School 303 and the Bronx Early College Academy. During targeted literacy intervention, AmeriCorps members work with students in one of three areas: vocabulary, fluency or comprehension. From reading passages out loud together to introducing new techniques for note taking and comprehension, AmeriCorps members work to build the fundamental skills our students need to be strong, independent readers and writers.

Potential Long Term Impact

Students who progress to 10th grade with their peers are four times more likely to graduate than students who fall behind. City Year's Long-Term Impact goal is to ensure 80% of the students in the schools City Year serves reach 10th grade on track and on time, serving the majority of at-risk students in the locations where City Year serves. City Year focuses on the communities where the dropout challenge is most concentrated, ultimately serving 2/3rds of the nation's dropouts.