On Friday, November 19th, City Year Boston was honored to be able to lead another annual Thanksgiving Day service project, where we had the opportunity to engage corporate sponsors and get out into the city of Boston to perform service at multiple sites. We would like to take this space to sincerely thank some of our service partners that came to City Year headquarters to give a day of service, including: Harvard Gives, Westfield Capital Management, Bain Capital, Bain & Company, National Grid, Johnson & Johnson and Harvard Pilgrim!
Written by Connor Bair-Cucchiaro, Bain & Company Team, Serving at the Agassiz Elementary School
Elijah was proud and beaming while Team Agassiz looked on, awestruck. Moments like these are rather commonplace during our extraordinary after-school program.
Starfish is a dynamic, curriculum-based program which aims to insure homework completion, as well as foster students’ holistic growth and well-being. During the first hour of the program, we offer homework help, while in the second hour we lead enrichment activities that may cover a life lesson, a new idea or a different view of the world. We work to develop academic, social and behavioral skills through persistent, personal mentoring. Students also have the opportunity to release energy through fun activities and active games. We love this aspect of our enrichment hour because the kids not only need more physical activity to lead healthy lives, but they need to burn some of the energy that they store all day in class!
It’s not always only the kids that get involved with Starfish either!
There is a little boy named Elijah who gleefully joins our final moments of Starfish almost every day. His grandmother, who everyone calls Nana and who is over 60 years old, shocked us all by revealing her amazing jump-roping prowess. While fellow corps members Jessica and Nikketta swung two ropes at once in the challenging ‘double-dutch’ style, Nana nonchalantly jumped in during mid-swing and executed a stylish skipping pattern! The Bain & Company Team could not help but chant, “Nana! Nana! Nana!” as Nana continued to jump. Elijah, one of our most energetic starfish, patiently sat on the bench while Nana performed a jump-roping maneuver unprecedented at the Agassiz School. It was incredible – who knew that the soft-spoken Nana was capable of such a feat? Elijah was proud and beaming while Team Agassiz looked on, awestruck. Moments like these are rather commonplace during our extraordinary after-school program.
By Emily Hildreth, Bain Capital Team, Whole School, Whole Child After-School Project Leader
For 10 months last year, I spent every Monday through Thursday working from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm at the Agassiz Elementary School in Jamaica Plain. Every day my team and I worked as tutors, mentors and role models in every third, fourth and fifth grade classroom. It was through these roles and our teacher and family engagement events that my City Year Boston teammates and I got to know the Agassiz Community very well. Even though it has been months since my first corps year ended , my teammates – who are know some of my best friends – and I still talk about the Agassiz. We reminisce about the time David did his “no bones” dance in our team room; when Naby rapped a Kevin Rudolf song in front of his 4th and 5th grade peers; and when Jonalis co-led a “Hello Kitty” enrichment club in our Starfish After-School program.
The Agassiz Elementary School will always hold a special place in my heart and I know that the same is true for the other 10 individuals that I proudly served with last year. This year, having held Opening Day at our school was an incredible moment. It brought many of my former teammates out to help with the service day and continue to support City Year’s efforts at the Agassiz School. At the end of the day the physical transformation of our school was unbelievable. I’m so proud of the work that was done, but my only wish is that I was there that Monday morning to see the look on Jonalis, Naby and David’s faces when they saw the murals and all of the care packages that were made for them.
Past and present members of the Bain and Company Team at Agassiz Elementary
By Mercedes McCurdy, Bain Capital Team, Training Project Leader
Last week the senior corps hosted the first community meeting of the year. Every month a team gives a presentation to the entire City Year Boston site about their team and service. The goals of community meetings are to bring the City Year Boston community together to share and celebrate hard work. Community meetings also develop the connection between the staff and corps through sharing and reflecting. As the senior corps we decided that it would be fitting to show the first-year corps members what a community meeting looks like. I decided to take a leadership role in the planning and execution of the presentation. It was amazing to see how talented and dedicated my teammates were. This was a complete team effort. The beginning of the year is an extremely demanding time for leadership, but we pulled off an excellent community meeting as a team.
The meeting started off with a powerful entrance that was a Kevin Dua remake of the song “Power” (Lyrics can be found at the end of the post). Next we played an introduction video that talked about who we were and why we serve. The rest of the community meeting consisted of testimonials about youth we have inspired, community joys, appreciations and moving life stories. Next we showed a slideshow with inspirational quotes and pictures from our corps year. We closed out the community meeting with a challenge to the corps:
Anything we can do, You can do better.
The standing ovation overwhelmed the senior corps with pride and joy. We received a tremendous amount of positive feedback from the corps and staff. Some comments included:
“You are true Servant Leaders! Thank you for keeping the bar high and leading by example.”
“This was an unforgettable hour.”
“There are few moments that have made me feel the way I felt during your community meeting. I laughed, I cried, but most of all I remembered why being able to work with people like you all make ME a better person.”
I could not be more proud to be a senior corps member. There is a special connection with us. We are a unit. We are a team. We are family.
The Senior Corp’s Power – Kevin Dua
We’re serving as your senior corps in 2010
Slight raise in stipend
31 returned to lead this corps here in Boston,
Cheers from Chris Plummer, got a nice ring to it.
All team, service, project leaders need theme music.
For ten months, we have all the power
To change the world in our red bombers
It’s for the kids that we’ll empower
For the kids that we’ll empower
At this time, second and very hour
Stand and declare, a little louder
SPIRIT, DISCIPLINE, PURPOSE AND POWER!
We’re serving at the Orchards Gardens, Burke and Tobin
Back at Agassiz and Haley They say Neighborhood Charter is the best in the city
That’s a pretty cool place for your kids to be
At the Renaissance school, man we will do big things
New support at Greenwood we will bring Blackstone and YA from fall to spring
Help build kids up as queens and kings
What else we do? Glad you ask!
Recruit, train and blog–that’s our task Events, Devo, PLs and BCE
Sometimes people use the phrase “the time just flew by…” But until looking back on the past 12 or 13 months, I never truly understood it. At City Year, you are so invested into your work, your kids, and your teammates, that the time literally does “fly by.” The amazing Boston autumn quickly becomes the frigid winter, and before you know it, the flowers are blooming in the Public Garden.
Today, October 2nd, 2010, marks my second Opening Day at City Year Boston, and I am truly surprised when I look back on my time here so far. Last year, fresh out of Basic Training Academy, I entered Opening Day #1 with a feeling that I was about to change the world one child at a time at the Boston Renaissance. I was excited, nervous, but ultimately, I was ready. Like every other corps member from my year, we were molded into true leaders, taking part in numerous initiatives, speaking opportunities, presentations, and projects. We truly made a difference in our areas of service, but I think City Year Boston also made a difference in every one of us.
This year, I returned back to City Year Boston with thirty of the best people I have ever met to take the leadership we developed last year to the next level as Team Leaders, Project Leaders, and Service Leaders. We are the 2010-2011 senior corps, and we could not be more proud of the work we have done so far.
Twelve months ago, I showed up to Opening Day, excited for myself. But today, at Opening Day #2, I arrive at the Agassiz Elementary School with a slight sense of ownership, due to the weeks of planning and preparing for opening day. Today is not about us anymore, it’s about stepping back and doing everything we can to help the corps that has filled our boots, it’s about leading them as effectively as we know how; it’s putting them on the stage, shining the spotlight on them and saying “Now it’s your turn.”
This post was written by Breanna Akama, a recently graduated corps member from the Bain & Company Aggasiz Elementary School in Jamaica Plain. As summer break continues, it’s important to keep in mind that the Massachusetts anti-bullying legislation stands for a philosophy of how we commit to the well-being of kids. We need great role models like Ms.Winter supporting kids everyday, whether it’s at school, on the playground or in summer camp.
Recently, the Massachusetts Senate approved an anti-bullying bill that will attempt to achieve a safer climate in the Boston Public Schools. While this is a huge step towards acknowledging just how severe bullying can be, it is just a start. Bullying is one of the biggest problems in school. It tends to get swept under the rug because its impact is so often diminished by adults. “Kids will be kids” is a common response, but bullying is almost always more than just playful teasing—it’s abuse.
The true difference comes from teachers and staff who interact with students on a daily basis. At the Agassiz School, Ms. Winter is one of those teachers who battles bullying firsthand. She takes her students’ well-being as seriously as she takes her role as a mandated reporter. She advocates awareness among her students and teachers alike. Students feel comfortable confiding in her because they know she will stop at nothing to protect them. Ms.Winter is the model of what will make the new anti-bullying legislation successful – a compassionate, trustworthy adult who strives to stay aware of what’s happening in students’ lives.
As the end of the year drew near, it became tougher and tougher to get out of bed with the same level of energy every day. Being with youth for ten hours a day has a way of taking its toll on you. One way I remedied symptoms of burnout was by posting this picture above my bed. It was the first thing I looked at in the morning and the last thing I saw at night. It was a reminder that my year of service with City Year matters, even after the MCAS was over and the days seem so much longer.
The artist had a way of giving me a sense of purpose and appreciation for the work I did every day– my own personal certificate of recognition that inspired me to endure.
I was given the task of writing a final article recapping my team’s year. I can’t imagine a more difficult thing than boiling down ten months of service, experiences, and relationships into one article. Some of the things my team did this year were planning our programs, tutoring, mentoring, morning greetings, service days, Starfish after-school programs, after-school special events, service days, special school events, and much more.
There were times we struggled to work together as a team, but we always overcame them and are now a family. There were times we struggled to meet deadlines, but we always managed in the end to accomplish our most important goals. More than anything, I have learned so much this year from the students I worked with. They are funny, wise, and resilient, and I will never forget what I learned from them. I can only hope they will remember some of what they learned from me. City Year has been an experience too complex to describe in anything less than a multi-volume series, but the most important part was the people who’s lives we touch and who touched our lives in return.
Steve was one of the most dedicated members of our team. In addition to tutoring and mentoring his third grade class, Steve served as one of our Starfish after-school coordinators, CYFK (City Year for Kids) site director, Serve-a-thon site manager, corps council representative, and Young Heroes team leader on the weekends. He is caring, hard-working and an eloquent speaker. He leads with enthusiasm and an engaging spark in his eye. He is one of the most thoughtful people I’ve ever met, and if a City Year legend existed, he would probably be the first pick.
However, the Steve outside the red jacket is someone not many get to see. He is an adventurer. He dreams of one day being a father of seven, working in educational policy with a background in teaching. His bucket list includes things like leading Outward Bound trips in the Colorado rocky mountains, hiking the Appalachian trail and traveling across Africa and to all the major World War II sights in Europe. Just two years out of high school, Steve is already blazing a trail of his own. After leaving the University of Delaware and a history major behind, Steve found himself in pursuit of perspective. He wasn’t afraid to turn his initial dissatisfaction with college into an opportunity to gain experience with the population demographic he loves most–youth.
When asked to describe himself in three words, he said this–”I love Starfish.”
Steve is a humble idealist headed for greatness, and his passion for youth and determination to better himself are the driving forces that will get him there.
Stephen O’Connell won the 2009-2010 Lead On Award for his natural leadership. He is coming back as a senior corps member, leading a team of corps members in a Boston public school for the 2010-2011 City Year.
During the past ten months I’ve achieved three things I wasn’t sure I would–I’m graduating, I made lifelong friends, and I’ve fallen in love.
Blair Pippins, Guillermo Caballero & Jonathan Ramos of the Bain & Co Team
When I first started at City Year, I was skeptical of all the things we were told we’d gain. My life outside City Year was set, and I wanted my year as a corps member to be strictly a job. I’d get the necessary experience long hours and no pay had to offer, learn what I needed to and get out. But with that attitude, I couldn’t make it far.
Emily Hildreth and Jessica Pealer 6am before Serve-a-thon at Lo Presti Park
Halfway through the year I was barely showing up. I was burnt out and frustrated and sure I wouldn’t make it to graduation. I was totally unaware, however, of the deep bond that forms from serving together and how much it means to have a team that’s struggling but is persevering beside you. I underestimated how much this year would change me and the value of others changing in similar ways. I feel lucky to have been surrounded by such caring, funny, and selfless teammates.
Starfish Odalis Baez and Alicet Rodriguez at Mayor Menino's BPS Annual Awards Celebration, Faneuil Hall
The greatest thing I’ve gained this year though, is my love for the youth of Boston. Through every interaction–CYFK, lunch mentoring, after-school, or in class, I’ve learned so much more from them than they have from me. The youth I’ve met and gotten to know truly inspire me. Though it was a challenging year, I dedicated my service to an incredible demographic of students. The fifth graders in my class at the Agassiz School trusted me with their homework, their secrets, and their smiles. They were the best part of my City Year, and when I start graduate school in the fall for school counseling, the love I’ve developed for them will continue to be the greatest thing City Year could give.
Stephen O'Connell, the Agassiz team's after-school coordinator, with his students
I am often asked by family and friends what it is exactly that I do at City Year, what I have been spending the last ten months doing. I have become fairly good at answering this question in a few sentences, having been asked it so many times, and I think I do a pretty good job of describing what my teammates and I do in the classrooms at the Agassiz School, what CYFK is and what “Physical Service Days” are. However, what I can’t describe fully, and possibly never will, is what Starfish after-school is and what it means to me.
What Starfish is, what it does, who it involves, and my deep affection for “it” is indescribable. It is a place where my nine teammates and I have been witnesses to the immense growth of 55 children of the Agassiz School. They have morphed from constant “homework complainers” into independent “homework conquerors.” We have watched friendships form over the 240 plus hours that we all have spent together. They have learned how to run basketball, kickball, and imagination games by themselves. Unrestricted by the rules of their individual classrooms and the burden of staying in their seats, they have become a group of chaotic, silly, tired, loud, observant, energetic, caring people. Those 55 students mean so much to me. They are…
This past Saturday was the much anticipated Serve-a-thon. I served as a project coordinator at Lo Presti Park in East Boston where we repainted the playground, basketball court, and over a mile stretch of railings. The highlight of my day was a group of neighborhood boys who were bummed that their Saturday routine of playing ball until their lacrosse practice wasn’t going to go as planned. When they were invited to help, though, the day turned into something even cooler for them. Despite their concern for getting paint on their clothes, they enthusiastically grabbed paintbrushes and cups of paint and went crazy. Some of them had previous experience painting with their fathers or painting their aunt’s living room, and those took the lead. One was so concerned with getting his clothes dirty that he used my phone to call his mom and give her fair warning. She didn’t believe him at first, so he invited her to come check out the park.
At the end of the day, the boys took some time to admire their work. I overheard them say that none of their friends would believe that they helped paint, so after getting approval, I suggested we document their contributions in a secret place. Leaving their signatures there made that Saturday one they could look back on and remember as more than that just a day their Jordan’s got ruined, but as a day they helped transform a park they visit everyday.
