June 1, 2020
COLUMBUS, Ohio — City Year Columbus AmeriCorps members will end their rather unusual year of service with a virtual graduation June 5 to celebrate the resilience of the corps, students, staff and City Year community.
57 City Year Columbus AmeriCorps members spent the 2019-2020 school year working in seven Columbus City Schools providing 5,000 students in grades 3-10 individualized interventions in attendance, behavior, math, and English and supporting the school and community through numerous events and initiatives.
That instruction is typically held in person at each school.
But when Ohio schools closed in March due to Stay-at-Home orders by Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, City Year immediately mobilized to respond to the challenges presented by the pandemic and switched to providing those tutoring and mentoring services virtually, said Tasha Booker, executive director of City Year Columbus and vice president for City Year Inc.
“Since early April, City Year has been working with Columbus City Schools to support students and schools with virtual learning as a result of COVID-19 restrictions,” Booker said. “During this time, City Year AmeriCorps members have been serving remotely, completing professional development training and continuing their support of students through a variety of virtual activities.”
Additionally, the City Year Columbus team has been working directly with district administrators to develop an individualized plan for each school, gather resources for families, devise summer programming for students and strategize for school re-entry in the fall, she said.
“Even during this unprecedented moment of disruption in the schooling of Columbus children due to COVID-19, we know students continue to dream big and strive for academic success,” Booker said. “Now, more than ever, they need people who believe in their future—because students living in systemically under-resourced communities will face even greater challenges when they return to school.
“Education experts agree that the most vulnerable students—students of color, students from low-income families, those who are learning English and students with disabilities—will suffer the most due to school closures.”
The Northwest Evaluation Association projects that students will lose minimally 30% of their annual reading gains compared to a normal year and that, in math, depending upon grade level, students could lose 50% to 100% of their achievement growth.
With that in mind, the work City Year Columbus AmeriCorps members provide to Columbus City Schools takes on even more significance.
City Year is supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service, local school districts, and private philanthropy from corporations, foundations and individuals.
Moving forward, City Year AmeriCorps members will continue helping students reconnect with their school community, re-engage in their learning and recover from learning loss, ensuring that they are able to stay in school and on track towards graduation despite COVID-19, Booker said.
To acknowledge the work that City Year AmeriCorps members have done for students this year, a virtual graduation ceremony will be held June 5 at 12:00-1:00, she said.
“Dedication to our community is just one of the values that will be celebrated during our graduation, in addition to highlighting the resilience in our corps, students, staff and City Year community,” she said. “The virtual graduation will allow corps members to reflect on the unique service journey they experienced this year and celebrate with their peers, staff and the wider community.”
The virtual graduation can be viewed on live on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/1029530044110385/
More information on City Year Columbus can be found at cityyear.org/columbus/.
Contact:
Ruth Lomax
614-586-4531
rlomax@cityyear.org