Liz Ward is a corps member for City Year New York. Her story is unique.
The 24-year-old is serving for a second year at the same middle school — I.S. 126 in Long Island City, Queens — that she attended growing up.
“I have lived in the same neighborhood my whole life,” she explained. “I have a better understanding of why my students act out and fall behind in class, because I have been in their shoes.”
City Year, an education-focused non-profit organization founded in 1988, partners with public schools to provide full-time targeted intervention for students most at risk of dropping out.
City Year hires young people, 17 to 24 years old, to serve as “near peers” who give students the care and attention they need to be successful. Here in the city, peer teams serve in 22 public schools and work with students who are struggling with attendance, exhibit behavioral problems and/or are performing poorly in math and English. The 294 corps members in the city are among 2,500 workers serving 24 communities across the country.
Ward realizes the impact that a positive role model can have.
“Growing up, I was not always the best student,” she recalls. “By the time I got to high school, it felt safer to skip school than to show up, so I stopped going. I missed weeks, if not months, of school, and no one seemed to notice or care. After my freshman year, I only passed one class and was considering dropping out.”
That is when the student met Ms. Katz. “She was my tenth-grade journalism teacher and unlike any adult I have ever met,” Ward says. “For the first time, I had an adult in my life that pushed and encouraged me to get the most out of my education.
“Her taking a special interest in me changed the way I acted in school and motivated me to not only graduate from high school but also to attend college,” says Ward, who got a sociology degree from Stony Brook University on Long Island. “I joined City Year to be the ‘Ms. Katz’ for my students.”
John Hughes, managing director, program and service, for City Year New York, said: “A million students drop out of school each year, and 50% of those dropouts come from just 12% of schools. City Year’s long-term goal is to ensure that, over the next 10 years, 80% of the students in the schools City Year serves reach tenth grade successfully, up from the current 44%.
“Students who reach tenth grade on time and on track are four times more likely to graduate,” Hughes said. “Our corps members focus on working with off track students in the third through ninth grades.”
But he noted that the program is selective; about one out of every five people who apply to City Year gets accepted.
“It’s very hard work,” Hughes explained. “One teacher may have as many as 30 kids without an assistant. That’s where City Year comes in. They work close to 12-hour days from August through the end of June. They get a living stipend but they choose a Spartan existence to come and serve the kids of New York City. It’s enthusiastic young people trying to do good things. You can’t beat that!”
Ward added, “I love what I do, and I find it’s a privilege that I can serve not once but twice. To be in the same halls that I was in ten years ago is amazing. The fact that I am a graduate makes a huge difference to these kids. We have a unique mentor/mentee relationship. They are my babies 24/7.”
This year Ward is a team leader, which means that she manages and supervises the 11 other City Year mentors in her school.
“City Year has set me on the path to do service. I hope to work for a non-profit organization that focuses on education/mentorship, and potentially work at City Year on the staff,” she said.
“My best skill set is just relating to the students. I was one of them once,” Ward said. “Sometimes I just needed that extra push. I keep that in mind when I tutor my kids. All they need is a push.”
For more information about City Year call 646.452.3624 or visit www.cityyear.org
