By Maggie Hureau | Corporate Partnerships Manager
Dear City Year Champion,
City Year Boston is extremely grateful for your generous donation to support a team of 10 corps members as they serve as tutors, mentors, and role models for students at the Higginson/Lewis K-8 School in Roxbury. By supporting this team, you are helping the students at the Higginson-Lewis stay in school and on track to graduate.
IMPACT
Your contribution plays an important role in enabling a dedicated and diverse team of corps members to support students at the Higginson Lewis K-8 School through City Year’s Whole School Whole Child (WSWC) service model. The WSWC program supports students by improving academic achievement with a focus on attendance, behavior and course performance – key Early Warning Indicators that a student is at risk of dropping out. The City Year team at the Higginson Lewis serves from before the first bell rings in the morning until the last student leaves school at the end of the day, providing the following targeted support for students in grades 3-8:
Each of the 10 corps members serving on the City Year team at the Higginson-Lewis was recruited from a highly competitive pool of applicants from communities across the country. While some team members grew up in Massachusetts, others have come to serve the Boston community from as far away as California, New Mexico, Indiana, and Georgia. Ninety-two percent of team members hold degrees from four-year colleges and all receive in-depth training both prior to their in-school service and throughout the year to ensure significant impact on student success. By year end, each corps member on the team will have served more than 1,700 hours delivering the WSWC intervention model to Higginson Lewis students.
The team’s service at the Higginson-Lewis K-8 school is part of City Year’s larger goal to, in partnership with Boston Public Schools and other school partners, reach a majority of Boston’s off-track students before they reach 10th grade. By fall 2015, City Year Boston plans to serve more than 25,000 students in 37 Boston schools to reach 5,700 off-track students, resulting in increased proficiency and a higher graduation rate. This is in line with City Year’s long-term goal to ensure that 80% of the students served by City Year reach 10th grade on track and on time, serving a majority of at-risk students at the sites it serves.
STORY FROM SERVICE
“Our student’s futures are so bright that we have to wear sunglasses,” exclaimed corps member Tedra Thomas at the team’s celebrity-themed morning greeting at the Higginson Lewis K-8 School in Roxbury. The greeting was the team’s first themed attendance event of the year and the goal was to promote good attendance and school spirit.
The morning greeting was set up like a red carpet event. Corps members were designated different roles including bouncer, photographer, reporter, and even loyal fan. Chairs connected with red streamers were set up on either side of a red tablecloth carpet so that ‘celebrity students’ could pass through on their way into the building.
“It made me feel like I was a pop star. Usually my mornings are boring, but this morning was exciting. I felt really special,” said 3rd grader Elizabeth*. Even students that typically evade corps members’ morning high fives and warm welcomes seemed to be more willing to participate with the celebrity theme in place.
In addition to being exciting for the students, these special morning greetings help build a sense of school pride and stronger community ties amongst the parents and faculty. Corps member Gabriel Joachim has noticed the change: “I’m starting to feel that there is a stronger sense of school pride amongst students and staff since we have begun morning greetings. The fun themes especially seem to bring the whole school community together.”
Thank you again for your commitment to help support a City Year team of tutors, mentors and role models at the Higginson Lewis K-8 School in Roxbury and for your dedication to the young people of Boston!
By Maggie Hureau | HQ Corporate Special Projects Manager
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