give a year. change the world. ANNUAL REPORT & DONOR RECOGNITION BOOK 2010 Dear Friends, Education is the foundation of the American dream. Yet more than one million students give up on school in the United States every year. The high school dropout crisis is a national epidemic that requires bold action. There is hope. We know how to identify the students most at risk and we know what they need to succeed. Research shows that we can identify students who are likely to drop out as early as middle school by tracking early warning indicators of poor attendance, behavior issues and course failure in math and English. City Year is harnessing the energy and idealism of young adults in national service and placing them in these high-need schools to help students stay on track – and get back on track – to graduation and life success. This year, City Year united more than 1,500 diverse young leaders in full-time service to help turn around our lowest performing schools, close the education achievement gap and help students succeed. City Year deploys our AmeriCorps members into high-poverty schools, serving as "near-peer" role models and performance coaches, helping students develop socio-emotionally and achieve academically. Corps members work with at-risk students from 7:30 a.m. until the last student leaves the after-school program at dusk. We are seeing promising results: sharp increases in student attendance, progress in behavior and improved course performance in math and English. In 2010, 90% of all students tutored by City Year improved raw literacy scores, and the number of students with less than 90% attendance was cut in half as a result of City Year’s attendance support activities. Our school partners also recognize the value of an intensively engaged City Year team, including principals, school liaisons, and teachers who overwhelmingly agree that City Year provides students with positive role models and a positive learning environment. At this defining time in our nation, we see an extraordinary opportunity for all of us to work together to help more students and schools succeed; it is time to take the unique value and impact of national service to students and schools across the country. City Year’s In School & On Track initiative is designed to reach a majority of all students falling off track in each of City Year’s 20 U.S. locations, and with the help of our committed champions and partners, we can achieve that goal. The length of the 2010 Annual Report & Donor Recognition Book is a humbling testament to the many individuals and organizations who, with generous financial support as well as thought partnership, enable our corps of young idealists to make a real difference. We are thankful to our school and district partners around the country. We are sincerely grateful to AmeriCorps and to the individuals and families, corporations and foundations who provide critical support to help City Year reach at-risk students. We are proud to list your names on the pages that follow. Together, we can ensure future generations of Americans have the skills and opportunities they need to realize their dreams. With your support, we unite the trained, idealistic young leaders who commit to ‘give a year. change the world.’ with the students and schools who need them the most. Thank you for your tremendous commitment to City Year and to helping our nation’s students stay in school and on track. Yours in service, Michael Brown Steve Woodsum CEO & Co-Founder Chair City Year, Inc. City Year, Inc. Board of Trustees Michael Brown, CEO & Co-Founder and Steve Woodsum, Chair 1 2 City Year's Service in America's Schools 3 The costs of the high school dropout crisis are profound High school dropouts are 3 times x x x more likely than college graduates to be unemployed and 8 times x x x x x x x x more likely to be in jail or Every prison than high school 26 graduates. seconds a student gives Barely up on school in America. 50% of all African American students and less than 66% of Hispanic students will graduate with their class. 4 The more than 12 million students projected to drop out over the next decade will cost the nation $3 trillion. =1,000 students 5 We know the students who are most likely to drop out of school and we know what they need to succeed. A breakthrough set of studies from Johns Hopkins University found that students who are most at risk of dropping out of school can be identified as early as middle school through key indicators: poor attendance, unsatisfactory behavior and course failure in math and English. When just one of these off-track indicators is exhibited by a child as early as the 6th grade, students have less than a 25% likelihood of graduating from high school. The research also found that continuous support from trained and dedicated adults serving as tutors, mentors, attendance monitors and problem-solvers works and helps students and schools succeed. City Year’s Service in America’s Schools City Year corps members serve in 20 locations across the United States and use the power of national service to help turn around high-need schools and help students graduate. Through City Year’s service model – called Whole School, Whole Child – diverse teams of corps members serve full-time to help improve student attendance, behavior and course performance. Corps members provide the right interventions to the right students at the right time through: • academic support • attendance monitoring and incentives • positive behavior support • after-school programming • in-school programs and activities such as assemblies and celebrations that improve the overall school environment 6 As a diverse group of near-peers, City Year corps members are uniquely able to help students and schools succeed. In each partner school, City Year corps members are a full-time presence from the first bell until the last student leaves the after-school program. City Year corps members provide a critical mass of people power that matches the scale of students who need additional supports. City Year’s diverse teams unite corps members of all racial and socioeconomic backgrounds and enable students to find a variety of role models. Corps members serve on highly visible, uniformed teams and provide a powerful, dynamic presence in a school. Young adult corps members, older than classmates and younger than parents and administrators, forge meaningful relationships with students as their near-peer role models. The idealistic culture and values of a City Year team infuse energy and spirit, and contribute to a positive learning environment for the whole school. Student Leadership: One of the important ways corps members share their commitment to service and to helping children is by leading programs that teach elementary, middle and high school students about how to be active citizens in their communities and make a difference through City Year’s Starfish Corps, Young Heroes and City Heroes programs. Community and School Transformation: City Year corps members also engage community members and corporate partners in physical service projects at schools and community centers, including: • painting murals • planting gardens • creating playspaces 7 City Year Impact – Helping Children and Schools Succeed Across all of City Year’s U.S. locations, City Year’s young leaders help keep kids In School & On Track by improving student attendance, behavior and coursework. In 2009-2010: 90% of all students tutored by City Year improved raw literacy scores. 91% of more than 900 teachers surveyed agree or strongly agree: City Year corps members helped foster a positive environment for learning. 88% of more than 900 teachers surveyed agree or strongly agree: City Year corps members helped students feel more motivated to learn. 95% of principals and school liaisons surveyed agree or strongly agree: City Year corps members are positive role models. City Year is making a big As a result of City Year's attendance difference and helping me a lot. I raised my math scores support activities, more than a whole grade and a half half of the students with lower because of their help. than 90 percent attendance in – Jeannie, 6th grade student the fall achieved over 90 percent 90% Roger Williams Middle School Providence, Rhode Island attendance by the spring. I joined City Year so that every student has the opportunity to know what it is like to walk across the stage and receive a high school diploma. This year, I served as a tutor and mentor in an urban middle school. One student I worked with, let's call him Antonio, was often late or absent, and disengaged when he was in class so he was doing poorly. I tutored him one-on-one in math, led a small reading group that included him and met with him during our lunch mentoring program. Everyone at school saw him change. First he started coming to school more often, then he began coming to school on time and before long, Antonio was coming to school early. By the second semester, Antonio’s lowest grade on a math test was a B+ and his reading improved by a full grade and he was working well with classmates. He’s in high school now and on his way to earning his diploma. – Rachelle Jean Baptiste, Corps Member 8 Of over 4,400 students surveyed 80% of students surveyed agree: City Year helps me learn 80% of students surveyed agree: City Year helps me believe I can succeed 9 Diplomas Now is an innovative school turnaround model that unites three experienced nonprofit organizations to work with the nation’s most challenged middle and high schools to help keep students on track to graduation and adult success.