Goodbye!
The way City Year says goodbye to their schools and students ranges from grand celebrations to small gifts. Each team and corps member says goodbye in their own way.
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- Notebooks corps member Laura Slotkoff made for her students
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- Notebooks corps member Laura Slotkoff made for her students
The ReNew Accelerated Team is throwing a final Cinco da Mayo themed party at their school. They have donations lined up from Mexican restaurants and are working on securing a piñata.
Sarah T. Reed Elementary’s Literature Magazine
As an end-of-the year gift to her school, Corps Member Ellen Huffman created a literature magazine highlighting the very best writing and art at Sarah T. Reed Elementary. Here on the blog, we are proud to feature a few of these exceptional pieces of student work.
One Year Later
By Michael Cohn-Geltner, Proud Service Team Leader
On Valentine’s Day last year the third grade math teacher at Sci-Tech Academy had students write cards to each other. Alice Carter, who was sitting in the back of the class after having thrown a temper tantrum, did not receive one. I knew she had no friends in the class. She often felt isolated and alone. When I was her age, I also had very few friends. If I had been in that class, I would have not received a note.
I pulled out my notebook and wrote her a letter. She smiled for a moment.
During my final day at school last year I took a portrait of my favorite students and wrote a note on the back. When I gave Alice her card she was pouting in detention. Her shirt was untucked and her hair was a mess. She had been crying earlier in the day. She could not understand some of the words I had used so I read the card out loud to her. I don’t remember if she liked the note, but she liked the portrait.
I had hopes at the end of last year that a new team would work with my old class. I soon discovered we would not be returning to my old school, Sci-Tech Academy. We started a new partnership with a different ReNew Charter School, Reed Elementary. Perhaps a week after the team started at Reed Elementary I received a text from the Team Leader.
“One of the 4th grade girls is asking about you.”
“What is her name?”
“Alice Carter.”
Within a day I had a note on my desk. Here it is below. I pinned it up next to my computer screen.
I wrote her a note wishing her the best at her new school and telling her she should reach out to any of the City Year people at her school when she needed help.
I thought that would be it. I kept my nose to the grindstone. Reports on her progress trickled in. I learned she was playing football, but she quit after a while. I heard she was suspended for getting into a fist fight with a boy. I heard that even though she did not have a corps member in her class she was earning good grades.
I forgot about her as I fell into my work. One day, I found the following note on my desk below. I received it during a busy time and did not respond quickly. Corps Member Laura Slotkoff sent me a picture of Alice writing on a chalk board, “Come visit Reed Elementary!”
Notice the improved spelling, grammar, and penmanship
After Global Youth Service Day I was able to make it out to her school. She seemed very happy, but not terribly surprised to see me in person. Her shirt was tucked in, her hair looked sharp. We talked about how her family was doing. She moved into her Grandmother’s place in New Orleans East. She smiled easily and often. She helped me touch up a hopscotch board.
A friend of hers came out and I watched as the two of them played basketball. They teased each other and told jokes. She seemed much more peaceful than when I last saw her pouting in dentition. It was a great moment to see that a student who had been troubled now seemed to have found peace. All the forces in life, parents, schools, friends, and City Year had worked together to make a difference in the life of this one child. It’s amazing the difference one year can make.
Every Student Counts, Everyday
By Maggie Mahoney, Corps Member Proudly Serving at ReNew Accelerated High School
A year ago I was in the process of graduating college. I was pulling my last all-nighters in the library, finishing my senior thesis, and power cleaning my college house for my landlord’s final inspection. I told my friends in Portland, “Don’t worry, it’s just a year, I’ll be back soon!”
Ms. Mahoney Working With a Student
I had a plan. I was putting my money where my mouth was and my ideals of social justice to work outside of academia. I wanted to be an active example and a contributing part of the “national service movement.” Now, after 10 (one adjective can’t possibly describe it) months of service as City Year New Orleans Corps Member, I’m re-upping for a second year of commitment, to the confusion and disbelief of many of my friends, family, and even myself.
As a young college graduate with a decent resume and plenty of creativity, I have options. I could get a salary job, apply for fellowships, start graduate school, travel, or enjoy a lucrative Bourbon Street bartending gig. I’ve been asking myself a lot lately, why did I choose this…again? Do I enjoy working myself ragged on a weekly basis, pouring my heart into tutoring students who might not make it to the test, and combating to replace a mountain of apathy with an ethos of education and civics? Is this not, by definition, insanity? But, the moment I begin to question my decision, I am faced with the completely opposing idea of, how could I not be doing this for another year?
Serving as a City Year Corps Member has been the first responsibility I’ve had where I don’t wake up in the morning concocting a unique but believable excuse to get out of coming in. I wake up with purpose, knowing that my team, and students are relying on me, and that I can make a difference. I think “This day might be the most important day of my service–the make it or break it day in one of our students’ educations. I can’t miss it!” As we say on my team, “Every student counts, everyday.”
This is how I feel about City Year New Orleans as an organization. As a part of the inaugural corps I’ve experienced the growth of a young City Year site. I’ve seen my fellow corps members and our leadership accomplish amazing feats from handling student crisis to planning and implementing outstanding school programming and citywide service projects. As a corps we put on the best versions of ourselves every morning, endure long and frustrating days, and even volunteer on the weekend, like it’s no big deal, just part of the job.
I’ve watched in awe at my teammates’ relentless and successful efforts to break through to students who have never liked Math or English (or anyone who has tried to help them) before this year. I’ve witnessed our leadership, our senior corps, build relationships with school administrations and organizations across the city who are excited about our work, and who can’t wait to work with us again. I am joining senior corps because I don’t think I could stand not seeing firsthand what City Year New Orleans will do in the New Orleans community in 2012-2013, and the amazing things I will be able to accomplish as a part of it.
Leading a team as a Senior Corps member, I want to ensure that future corps members’ year of service is the most rewarding year of their lives, thus far. This is BIG work, but I’ve experienced the powerful impact each individual, and a strong team, can make. Corps members are the life-blood of City Year. I hope to give the new corps the support and resources they need to be the best tutors, mentors, and role models possible for students who desperately need it. This coming year, I will strive to harness even more of that youthful power of idealism that will keep City Year, and the City of New Orleans, moving forward.
Sorry Portland, I’m going to be a bit late.
What We Must Remember
My arm is very tired. For the last two days, I have been assisting in sketching students’ artwork onto the walls of Sarah T Reed High School. Several students took the initiative to provide meaningful murals that were painted on Global Youth Service Day. As I am thinking about how glad I am that they have decided to leave a meaningful legacy, I realize that by sketching their art onto the walls, I am leaving a legacy as well.
Every City Year corps member has contributed in countless ways to countless students’ progress and their eventual legacies at their schools. Corps members Kati Johnson and Veronica Giraldo have been tantamount to our student artists’ successes. They spent hours asking questions to the students and inspired them to take the extra time and make the extra effort to go above and beyond the base level of what is expected of them.
This is the unofficial job description of a City Year corps member. We support, lead, inspire, and execute our students’ potential. As I sketch the murals on the walls, I am reminded that although not all of the results of what we do are as tangible as murals, all of our results are still just as permanent.
The reward of seeing our students’ potential meet full fruition is a privilege that we are usually not awarded. However, that is not the case with the murals at Sarah T. Reed High School. While the artists intended for the murals to be symbols of specific meanings, the beauty of art is that it means whatever it means to you. To me, the murals represent City Year lifting students to the pedestal and then stepping back, fading into the background. Our students’ successes are our successes. We must remember this as we exit our year of service.
Global Youth Service Day at Sarah T. Reed Elementary
By Laura Slotkoff and Briana Luth, Corps Members Proudly Serving at Reed Elementary
Tomorrow the City Year team at Sarah T. Reed Elementary in New Orleans East will be having a large scale service day that will beautify the school and make for a more effective learning environment. We will be doing a number of projects to improve the quality our students’ education and their surroundings.
We have several painting projects planned for the day. The school is in trailers with metal columns lining the outdoor hallways, most of which have been painted bright blue, green and purple. They brighten the spirits of our students as they walk to their classes. We are going to paint the remaining columns similar colors. On the ground there are paw prints that guide the younger students to their classes. They have faded away. We will repaint them.
We also have some mural painting planned for our school. The school has a strong emphasis on college preparation, so we will paint college logos on the sidewalks. Our last painting project, which is our rainy day back up plan, is to paint inspirational murals onto panels to be hung around the school.
Photo by Laura Slotkoff
We will be doing some light construction for our school as well. We are fixing trash bin containers to house the outdoor trash cans and discourage littering around the school grounds. We will also be fixing benches for the students and faculty to enjoy sitting outside along the playground and basketball court.
We have recruited some staff members and students, who are excited to beautify their school. There are also some sailors in town who have offered their time to volunteer for our service project. Our goal is to bring confidence and poise to the name Sarah T. Reed Elementary and with a little elbow grease and a whole lot of gung-ho attitude we will be successful! Let’s go Royal Tigers!
This is the blog of City Year New Orleans. give a year. change the world.
5 Ways to Make it Through the Final Stretch
By Tiffany Montano, Corps Member Proudly Serving at Sarah T. Reed High School
Think back to high school. Do you remember when spring finally came around? Do you remember the overwhelming urge to just check out from your responsibilities? This is the point that our students are reaching now. As it turns out, serving in a high school also breeds similar feelings to when we actually were in high school – we are exhausted too.
City Year is tough. Just like anything else, it only gets tougher as you get closer to the finish line. That’s why I have decided to make a list of the survival strategies that I have observed in not only my fellow corps members, but also myself:
- Start a countdown. We have a countdown on the chalkboard in our classroom. As of today, it reads: “23 days left at school” and “28 days until graduation.” When we are frustrated, we can refer to the board and find solace in the fact that we’re almost there. At the same time, this countdown reminds us of how little time we have left with our students, enabling us to appreciate our time more.
- Eat your lunch outside. The weather is beautiful but you spend every weekday from sun up to sun down indoors. You’re going to resent that. Even though you can’t spend the whole day outside, you can still enjoy and appreciate its beauty! You have half an hour to yourself – make it count.
- Find humor in your misery. There is no better way to get through tough times than humor. When you laugh, your brain releases endorphins that actually make you happier. It’s one of those “fake it ‘til you make it” kind of situations. Once you laugh about it, you’ll realize that it really isn’t that bad anyway.
- Treat yourself to something nice. This can take form in any way that you see fit: a chocolate bar, a bubble bath, dinner with friends, etc. We don’t have a lot of money so sometimes we need to get creative. For example, Easter candy is on sale and instead of going out to dinner, organize a picnic.
- Sit down with one of your favorite students and imagine this was your last day with them. This is the toughest strategy to master but it is also the most effective. You might hesitate to jump into it right away because, as you can imagine, it makes you really sad! We love our kids and we can’t imagine life without them. Maybe you remember when I wrote about a student transferring in January; this was a traumatic event for me. At the same time, her leaving enabled me to appreciate my time with my students even more. This is what we need to do in our final days as City Year corps members. Harness your sadness and your confusion for what life will be like without your kids and transform those feelings into motivation to keep going strong.
How To
By Laura Slotkoff, Corps Member Proudly Serving at Reed Elementary School
5 Ways to Make it Through the Final Stretch
Photo by Laura Slotkoff
By Tiffany Montano, Corps Member Proudly Serving at Sarah T. Reed High School
Think back to high school. Do you remember when spring finally came around? Do you remember the overwhelming urge to just check out from your responsibilities? This is the point that our students are reaching now. As it turns out, serving in a high school also breeds similar feelings to when we actually were in high school – we are exhausted too.
City Year is tough. Just like anything else, it only gets tougher as you get closer to the finish line. That’s why I have decided to make a list of the survival strategies that I have observed in not only my fellow corps members, but also myself:
- Start a countdown. We have a countdown on the chalkboard in our classroom. As of today, it reads: “23 days left at school” and “28 days until graduation.” When we are frustrated, we can refer to the board and find solace in the fact that we’re almost there. At the same time, this countdown reminds us of how little time we have left with our students, enabling us to appreciate our time more.
- Eat your lunch outside. The weather is beautiful but you spend every weekday from sun up to sun down indoors. You’re going to resent that. Even though you can’t spend the whole day outside, you can still enjoy and appreciate its beauty! You have half an hour to yourself – make it count.
- Find humor in your misery. There is no better way to get through tough times than humor. When you laugh, your brain releases endorphins that actually make you happier. It’s one of those “fake it ‘til you make it” kind of situations. Once you laugh about it, you’ll realize that it really isn’t that bad anyway.
- Treat yourself to something nice. This can take form in any way that you see fit: a chocolate bar, a bubble bath, dinner with friends, etc. We don’t have a lot of money so sometimes we need to get creative. For example, Easter candy is on sale and instead of going out to dinner, organize a picnic.
- Sit down with one of your favorite students and imagine this was your last day with them. This is the toughest strategy to master but it is also the most effective. You might hesitate to jump into it right away because, as you can imagine, it makes you really sad! We love our kids and we can’t imagine life without them. Maybe you remember when I wrote about a student transferring in January; this was a traumatic event for me. At the same time, her leaving enabled me to appreciate my time with my students even more. This is what we need to do in our final days as City Year corps members. Harness your sadness and your confusion for what life will be like without your kids and transform those feelings into motivation to keep going strong.
How To
By Laura Slotkoff, Corps Member Proudly Serving at Reed Elementary School
Tiana* sat on the floor of the library, hidden from view by a stack of books as she rummaged through the bottom shelf. All the other students in class lined up by the door, fidgeting with the pages of their new books. “Tiana! It’s time to go,” called the teacher impatiently, and then turned to me with an aggravated look. I understood. As the rest went off to their next classes, I went over to the stack of books.
Tiana was in the “How To” section anxiously tapping her foot and frustrated by the lack of drawing books. She wore her usual stubborn scowl and eyes filled with tears, an all too often occurrence for the 11-year-old girl. Surprised, I said, “You know, I really like drawing too. I started keeping a sketchbook when I was in the fifth grade. These books don’t seem quite right for you, but I can teach you how to draw if you’d like.” Her watery eyes went wide. “Really? You know how to draw?” For the first time I can remember, she smiled.
Excited by this newfound connection, we agreed to meet at lunch for her first drawing lesson. She told me some of the characters she wanted to learn to draw; Hello Kitty, Tinkerbell, and the Princess and the Frog were at the top of her list. While I helped her sketch the bow on her Hello Kitty, we talked. She opened up about some of the things that had been upsetting her, such as fighting with a friend, hating the school lunches, running out of food stamps at home and attending her aunt’s funeral. As her hand drove the pencil across the paper, her thin, angry lines became soft, thoughtful strokes. By the time her drawing was finished, she seemed more relaxed and happy than I’d seen her since the beginning of the year.
I did some research online and began putting together “how to draw” packets for her. Though she rarely allows herself to show an interest in anything, she began to ask me about them on a regular basis, bringing me drawings and showing off the nice new folder she got to put the drawing packets in.
Picture drawn by Tiana
I began to think back to when I was in fifth grade. I remember how whenever I was upset, doodling and drawing not only cheered me up, it made me feel more in control. I became more confident in myself and my abilities, more motivated to push forward and make smart choices. I became hopeful that art could do the same for Tiana. It is still a struggle to get her to do her work and not throw tantrums, but she now has an outlet for her frustrations and a developing talent to give her more self confidence.
*Student’s name has been changed.
8,287
Photo by trpnblies7 on Flickr
By Michael Cohn-Geltner, Service Team Leader
Perhaps the scariest moment during a corps year does not come in the classroom. It comes during tax season when we discover exactly, to the digit, how much money we have made. During this last fiscal year my only employer has been City Year. In that year I made $8,287.
Our executive director, Peggy Mendoza, refers to our stipend as a “poverty stipend” and she’s not exaggerating. For a one person household in the contiguous United States, the poverty threshold is $10,890. All Corps Members live in poverty. Making so little money can be extremely challenging. When I check my bank account, which I do at least once I week, I can recall how I spent every dollar.
Many corps members apply for, and get, food stamps. I never did. Back home in New York I had four part-time jobs, including working for the census as an enumerator and doing data entry for a Wall Street based non-profit. I developed a healthy savings before moving to New Orleans, which put me above the maximum amount of money one can have and still be eligible for food stamps. Through frugal spending and sheer luck I have been able to maintain my savings. I cook almost all my own food. I bike everywhere. My house, one half of a double shotgun, did not have heat in the winter so I curled in to a ball under a pile of blankets instead of buying a space heater. My hope is once I finish this year I will have exactly as much in my bank account as when I arrived in New Orleans.
Having to pinch every penny sometimes causes me to lose sight of the other benefits we receive as corps members. We receive health insurance for the duration of our service year along with ten paid personal days. The crown jewel of our City Year benefits is the $5,550 education award we receive after graduating. Many institutes of higher learner, including Louisiana State University, will match the education award as part of a “Give a Year” partnership. Some schools offer additional scholarships on top of the education award to City Year alumni. My teammate is receiving a $25,000, “Give a Year” scholarship to The Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. A corps member on the Sarah T. Reed High team is receiving a 10,000 scholarship to Pennsylvania State University.
Furthermore, City Year has LACY Partnerships with organizations such as the Peace Corps and the New Teacher Project. Listing City Year on a resume when applying to these organizations strengthens a candidate’s application. City Year New Orleans has many alumni who have become teachers through Teach NOLA, an alternative teacher certification program that works in conjunction with the New Teacher Project.
Even though our tax return is tiny, our benefits package is mighty.
Global Youth Service Day at Sarah T. Reed High School
By Tiffany Montano, Corps Member Proudly Serving at Sarah T. Reed High School
Every year, each team in the City Year network launches their own projects for Global Youth Service Day (GYSD). At City Year New Orleans, the teams at Sarah T. Reed High and Sarah T. Reed Elementary will both have beautification projects at their schools. GYSD at Sarah T. Reed High will take place on Friday and Saturday, April 20th and 21st.
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- The current backboard
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- The current hallway
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- The current basketball court
Corps member Kati Johnson secured a grant from the Lowe’s Toolbox for Education program to beautify Sarah T. Reed High School. We will be painting six large scale murals inside of the school, building a new practice baseball field, and revitalizing the basketball courts. Sarah T. Reed is also partnering with the local Lowe’s Home Improvement store for additional support.
The project at Sarah T. Reed High School will (so far) include 32 City Year Corps Members, 20 staff, 24 students and 10-20 external volunteers.
Here is how GYSD will play out at Sarah T. Reed High School:
Day 1 (April 20th, 9am-2pm) will include the basketball court restoration and baseball field construction. We will have 20 City Year Baton Rouge corps members coming in to support our project, and the Sarah T. Reed Baseball Team will help as well. Volunteers will be taping and painting basketball court lines, removing the rusty old backboards, and assembling and installing new backboards. They will also clear sod from the baseball field, distribute and tamp clay, install bases, and build two butcher block benches.
Day 2 (April 21st, 8:30am-1pm) will include painting six large murals inside of Sarah T. Reed High School. Volunteers will be treated to a light breakfast and coffee. We will have 12 City Year Corps Members and 30 students and staff participating. We will then assign volunteers to a pre-sketched 18 ft x 10 ft mural which they will paint. Mural designs are being designed by students and local artists.
As you can see, this is a ton of work! Where there is an untamed field of grass, we will build a baseball field. Where there is a dilapidated slab of pavement and rust there will be a fully functional basketball court. Where the hallways are bare – except for the graffiti peppered on the walls – we will paint six murals inspired by student artists and poets.
We are always accepting more external volunteers for our endeavors. Global Youth Service Day at Sarah T. Reed High School is an excellent opportunity to serve the New Orleans East community – a community with much courage and solidarity through hardships.
If you would like more information, please contact me at Tmontano@cityyear.org.
