From the heart of Texas to the heart of Philly

30 degrees in mid-October cannot be a sign of a reasonable winter. Although I must admit, my standards may not be designed for a northerly climate, I'm still glad I came.

You see, my name is Alex Harris and I am an Austin, Texas native. Last summer marked a rite of passage, my graduation from high school into the so-called “real world”. At the time, I felt unprepared to make a well-informed decision about college. My only clear conviction was that I wanted to avoid the blueprint of the hurry up and settle down life. I wanted, in a word, adventure.

A picture of what I didn’t want did not advance my college plans, it only kept me anchored in the present, with the clock ticking away. I obviously needed some time to think over my options, and felt this time period in my life a formative time for my perceptual lenses. Furthermore, I had a friend, near relative whom I’ve known since first grade in a very similar situation, so we set our sights for City Year Greater Philadelphia.

I served as an AmeriCorps member with City Year Greater Philadelphia. I am often asked “Why Philadelphia?”, and quite honestly I don’t have a clear answer. Perhaps the best one is “Why not Philadelphia?”

Initially City Year seemed rather overwhelming but now it makes complete sense to me. Being assigned to Elkin Elementary helped to affirm my reasons for joining. I worked with a first grade class, a bi-lingual second grade class and a fourth grade class in the afternoon. My fourth graders are quite a unique bunch of students. I remember being overwhelmed, with a sense of pandemonium that seemed like a parody of school room chaos seen in television shows or in movies, but amidst the distracting scenery there were a few students quiet and earnestly interested in their work. I wrote them personal notes, thanking them by pointing out their good behavior and hard work, and the reactions were magical. The students absolutely lit up and beamed with pride, while many others noticed my now signature “Mr. Alex notes”. The next day, an especially rambunctious young girl, Kayla was in her seat doing her work. She wanted a note as well. Attention is something these students soak up, and I prefer not to speak unless it is meaningful. Needless to say, those are complimentary tendencies.

Now that I’ve had some time to reflect and engage, I have a more concrete idea of what my plans will be, and I know that the lenses through which I view life will forever be altered.

Alex, 18, SAP team at Elkin Elementary

CY 101: Strong Circle

The Strong Circle Power Tool allows for effective communication between the members of small to medium sized groups. All members of the group stand shoulder to shoulder in a tight circle. No one stands inside the circle and no one is outside of the circle. There should be no food or drink in the circle, either, only notebooks and pens. The Strong Circle allows for inclusivity, because with everyone able to make eye contact and see and hear one another, there is a forum opened to allow for free discussion of a topic.

The Strong Circle is used all over City Year. Every day, teams will start off with First Circle, a check-in and announcement time. Circles throughout the day, especially on service days, can help keep everyone on the same page. Final circle can provide a great space to debrief the day.

'08-'09 Graduation

This past Thursday, City Year Greater Philadelphia's '08-'09 corps graduated.

We served in dozens of schools, completed hundreds of thousands of hours of service for our students and neighborhoods, and got to be a part of something bigger than any one of us.

As the members of the '08-'09 corps prepare to go to college, start careers, embark on another AmeriCorps term and the many other things that City Year alumni opt to do, we wish you luck and thank you for all that you did this year.

My team's impact on our school

I’m a proud corps member serving at Benjamin Franklin middle school, located in the Northeast section of Philadelphia. When I first arrived at this school I was kind of nervous of how the students were going to react to my team and me. I was not really sure of how to approach them or knew what to say to them, but as the year was moving I started feeling more relaxed around them. By the time we reached March, the school climate became free and the atmosphere was calmer. Everybody in the school knows my name, asks about if I’m around all the times, and the school Administration is nice and generous to me.

One of my classes that I work in is 217. Ms. Daniels is a 4th grade teacher with the most kind-hearted and polite group of kids. I do in-class support with her helping out with literature and math, and mainly take out a couple kids a week to do small group tutoring. Also, she has invited me on two school trips, one was to the aquarium, and the other was to the Franklin Institute. I had a fabulous time at both places because the students left with smiles on their faces like they just came back from Disney World.

Ms. Mackey’s 8th grade class is one of my favorites out of all. This class has the hilarious group of kids, and I work with at least 8 students from this classroom. The students work on their reading comprehension skills, and touch base on what’s going on in their lives like a mentor session. I created a performance chart to keep track on their progress in class. I threw a pizza party for these students because they achieved what I had set for them in the month of February.

The way this year went, I feel like my team and I had a great impact on Benjamin Franklin middle school. All the progress this school is making through the time we was appointed to this school with the Pep Rally, City Hall trips, Penny Wars etc…

Russ, 22, corps member, the Graham Company team at Franklin school

CY 101: Round Tables (aka service outside the classroom)

Roundtables are a part of your outreach engagement service and are at the heart of people understanding the service that we do. Back in 1991, Bill Clinton participated in a roundtable at City Year Boston and was so inspired by their stories that it created a ripple known as AmeriCorps. Locally, roundtables have led corporations to become team sponsors as well as partnerships for recruitment to make filling our boots easier. This past year has seen several articles published after the writer was engaged in a roundtable, including first year corps member Zein Tawil (FirsTrust team at Shaw Middle School)being featured in a Philadelphia Inquirer article.



In a roundtable, corps members are seated around a table (hence the title) and share their story with the visitor(s). The story consists of who you are, why you joined City Year, what you do in City Year, an impact story, and your plans for after City Year. The roundtables highlight the diversity of the larger corps and usually have 3 or 4 corps members. Also, every corps member will get a chance to participate in a roundtable – it can be anyone from a US Senator to a community organization. Every visitor is important, even if their title may not appear to be - our current Co-Executive Director Loree Jones came in for a roundtable with a friend of hers while the ED of Manayunk Development Corporation. So, remember the power of RIPPLES!

McKendry, 26,Visitor's Program senior corps member

Photo taken by Rex Carney

CY 101: Stand and Declare

Often in City Year, we find ourselves in large groups listening to a presentation or participating in a large scale discussion. “Stand and Declare” is a power tool designed to foster effective, courteous, and thoughtful communication and to strengthen community among the corps.

The idea behind “Stand and Declare” is that whenever we are in a medium to large group, the person who is speaking, whether to ask for clarification or to comment, will stand, state his or her name and team, then state his or her question or comment.

Standing allows for more eye contact, for the rest of the audience and the presenter to know who is speaking, and for greater voice projection so that the audience can hear the speaker. Being made to stand before you speak will also encourage the audience to be thoughtful in their responses, because they are literally, and figuratively, standing by their words.

Finally, “Stand and Declare” allows for people to familiarize themselves with one another in a large group, creating a greater sense of community than hearing anonymous speakers’ reactions.

'08-'09 corps member, '09-'10 service leader

I was born in Texas and raised in Puerto Rico. I have been in Philadelphia for 3 years. I attended public schools in Puerto Rico and completed 1 year of college in Universidad del Turabo for early childhood education K-3. In 2005, I was hired by Norris Square Children Center, where I worked as an assistant teacher. Working with children was the best for me, to see how they learn and grow knowledge was so exciting. I worked as an assistant teacher for almost 2 years and decided to further my education so I attended Orleans Technical Institute where I received a certificate on Residential and Commercial electrician. It was a challenge for me because I did not know anything about electricity plus I was the only girl in the classroom. But I was hungry for success and I focused on what I had to learn.

As a single mother, it was hard for me to provide for my children so I worked during the day and went to school at night. I graduated from Orleans Technical Institute in April 2008, finally I got there; it was difficult but not impossible. My spirit made me keep going. After I graduated I was looking for jobs everywhere but because of the economy most of the companies were not hiring or laying off. I attended many job fairs and finally found City Year Greater Philadelphia and asked, ‘what’s City Year?’

WOW, I was surprised and wondered where was City Year when I was in high school, unfortunately we don’t have City Year in Puerto Rico. That’s why immediately after finding out what City Year was, I said to myself, I’m going to give back to my people and community. It’s great to see that we can make a difference in youth’s lives and also make a difference in our community.

Yvette, 24, SEI team at Mastbaum AVTS High School