We are excited to announce that City Year LA corps member Aaron Clark is featured in this week’s People Magazine!
The “Heroes Among Us” profile highlights Aaron’s drive to serve students who are at-risk of dropping out and the challenges he has persevered over his lifetime.
In the article, Markham Middle School Principal Paul Hernandez describes our students’ courage – and the role Aaron and his fellow corps members play in helping students stay in school and on track to graduation. “Every day students have to make critical choices: ‘Do I join a gang? Do I give in to alcohol or selling drugs?’ For kids consumed with surviving rather than planning for the future, City Year has been a lifeline.”
While Aaron serves here in Watts, his story represents the work of the 2,000 corps members that serve every day across the country!
Check out pages 104-106 in the newest edition of People magazine out on newsstands today!
In our Classroom Collaborations series, City Year LA corps members share their experiences partnering with teachers in schools to inspire students and end the dropout crisis.
Team leader Jose Ramirez and partner teacher Ms. Martinez.
Jose Ramirez, Team Leader on the JPMorgan Chase Team at Hollenbeck Middle School
I walk into the classroom. The bell hasn’t rung yet but students are already getting to their seats and taking out their notebooks. I walk around the room to greet each student, ask them how their days have been going, and prompt them to begin their work – in our classroom the lines between casual conversation and conversation about work/academics can be very thin; it keeps our relationships going strong. I’m not even completely sure if the bell has rung yet or not, the transition feels so seamless, but Ms. Martinez is already in front of the class and beginning the warm up. Throughout the entire lesson I am involved. She asks: “Mr. Jose, what do you think? Do you have anything to add? Can you lead this part of the lesson?” In our classroom my voice is as integral to the flow of the day as hers is. I am seen by my students as a second teacher and they respond to me in that way too; they respect me as such.
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