Building the Foundation: How City Year Shaped One Teacher’s Future

Participating in City Year is a great first step for those interested in working in education. It allows the opportunity to support a classroom in a unique way and learn from teachers and other education professionals who have years of experience and wisdom.

Hannah Booth (’22 & ’23) recounted to us how she took this first step with City Year and leveraged the skills and experiences she learned from the program into her role as a classroom teacher at Chester Academy. Hannah served with City Year New Hampshire as a first-year AmeriCorps Member and then as a Service Leader at Bakersville Elementary School.

After graduating from City Year, Hannah attended Southern New Hampshire University in the Fall of 2023, where she completed the clinical M.Ed. program. In June 2024, she obtained a Dual Certification in Elementary Education and General Special Education and interned in the Manchester School District while she completed the program.

Hannah is about to complete her first year of teaching fourth grade at Chester Academy. She described how City Year taught her “how to be comfortable in a classroom setting” and that she uses “City Year skills every day as a teacher.” The relatively low-stakes environment our Student Success Coaches encounter when they serve with the support of an Impact Manager and team allows them to explore their interest in education in a safe environment.

When asked what the most valuable lesson from her time with City Year was, Hannah drew on this system of support and expressed how she learned that she is never alone and that in the schoolhouse, there are “a lot of people there to support you and help you do the best that you can.” Working on a team also taught her the value of “being consistent and remembering that not everything happens overnight.”

Although these may seem like basic lessons, they are not afforded to every new teacher, and where others might be discouraged, Hannah and other City Year alums are able to draw from their service experience and persist through early challenges.

When recalling her time with City Year, Hannah not only reflected on her experiences as an individual, but also the students who left their mark on her. She remembers her students fondly as “kind, hard-working, and funny young people.” She shared how some of her favorite memories are walking to and from school with her students on the Bakersville Walking Bus.

We are so appreciative that Hannah has continued to invest in student success by serving as a fourth-grade teacher. She is a valued member of our CYNH alumni community, and we cannot wait to see her continued growth and her impact on students for years to come.

Keep up the good work, Hannah!