Philadelphia is a vibrant, diverse city known for its commitment to community service and education. City Year Philly is proud to be a part of this mission, with 200 AmeriCorps members supporting students in 19 schools.
While Philadelphia is widely known for being a vibrant center for academia, business, tech and medicine, some students in the city face significant systemic inequities every day. District-wide, more than 70% of students participate in a state assistance program (SNAP, healthcare or foster care).
The opportunity to do City Year is unmatched. It serves as a leadership program and a social program, while also doing great things in the community. It’s a life-builder.
David Rosenblum City Year Philadelphia, ‘05
Your corps experience
A close-knit community with ample opportunities to develop meaningful personal and professional relationships, Philadelphia is an ideal place to serve.
We partner with teachers and principals to ensure that students develop strong skills that will help prepare them for college, career and civic life. We serve in 19 Philadelphia Public Schools, supporting 12,000 students. AmeriCorps members also forge positive, caring relationships with students, as mentors and help create an environment where students can build on their strengths, take risks in their learning and feel connected to their school.
By engaging students, families and community organizations, City Year helps the Philadelphia School District achieve its mission of providing the civil right of every child in Philadelphia to an excellent public-school education and ensuring that all children graduate from high school ready to succeed.
Our schools
There are currently 203,229 students enrolled in the Philadelphia School District across 341 schools. The Philadelphia School District is home to a wide variety of students, who come from many different backgrounds and ethnicities, with 157 different languages spoken by families and students. 53% of students are Black African American, 20% Hispanic Latino, 14% White, 7% Asian and 6% being multi-racial or other.
City Year Philadelphia AmeriCorps members serve in 19 elementary, middle, and high schools within the district.
Work with a committed and diverse group of 6–12 City Year AmeriCorps members who share your passion for service and personal growth. Each team at City Year Philadelphia is managed by one Impact Manager and supported by 1–2 Senior AmeriCorps members who serve as Team Leaders.
Transportation to school
Most schools within the district are accessible by public transportation, SEPTA, with the Market Frankford line, Broad Street line, trolleys and buses being the primary route for our AmeriCorps members. Transportation passes are given, on a monthly basis, to AmeriCorps members who need them. However, there are AmeriCorps members who choose to drive and/or carpool to their specific schools.
Professional development
One of City Year Philadelphia’s top priorities is to ensure that we not only serve the students within the School District but also our AmeriCorps members by offering special programming throughout the service year that is designed to help them continue leading after City Year.
Professional development programs include but are not limited to:
18-Minute Networking — A Networking event hosted by Deloitte that consists if 18-minute rotations where AmeriCorps members can speak with professionals in a field of their interest.
LinkedIn Workshop — Workshops dedicated to perfecting and learning how to utilize your LinkedIn profile.
Career and Education Fairs — Fairs that expose AmeriCorps members to opportunities available post City Year.
College & University Information Sessions – Sessions dedicated to providing tools, information, and resources about colleges and other universities.
Comcast Careers Day — As part of our national partnership, Comcast NBCUniversal provides a day of professional development to each sponsored site in order to support City Year AmeriCorps members preparedness for college and career following their year of service.
Aside from support from Impact Managers and Team Leaders, AmeriCorps members receive support from City Year Philadelphia’s entire beloved community during the service year. With over 60% of our staff being City Year alumni, you will always have individuals who will be able to give you advice or lend you knowledge regarding your experience.
Community involvement
Create a positive climate of civic engagement that ripples throughout the Philadelphia community. During the service year, AmeriCorps members participate in community service across the city and help beautify the community by painting murals in schools, restoring recreation centers and/or cleaning streets and neighborhoods throughout the community.
This school year, the City Year Philadelphia AmeriCorps team serving at Alexander K. McClure Elementary School saw a unique opportunity to address two...
Over the last few years we have built a robust relationship with our partner schools, teachers, families and the community at large. We can’t wait to welcome you.
With March coming to a close, we couldn’t let the month end without showing appreciation to our City Year Philly AmeriCorps members for #CorpsAppreciationMonth. During this unprecedented time related to COVID-19, we recognize that it’s best to practice social distancing. So we thought what better way to show our appreciation than to do it digitally! Watch as City Year Philadelphia staff members celebrate the Corps on one of our MANY recent @zoom_video_communications gatherings. Head to our Instagram TV to take a look at more appreciations to our Corps.
Thanks for challenging us @cityyearwdc! And now, CYP challenges other City Year sites to show off their corps member love. Hey @cityyearnh let’s see your corps appreciation!! #WithLovefromCYP #CYPHILLY #CYPClassof2020 #CORPSAPPRECIATIONMONTH #socialdistancing2020 #PHILLYPHILLY #ZOOM #CITYYEAR #AMERICORPS...
During this unprecedented time of crisis related to COVID-19, City Year Philadelphia is committed to the safety and well-being of our community. Click the link in our bio for our Executive Director's full message, information, daily updates, and resources about our response to COVID-19....
POSTPONED: We have made the very difficult decision to postpone our Woman’s Leadership Luncheon that was scheduled for tomorrow due to the COVID-19 virus.
We have been monitoring information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with decisions that many of our partners are making to limit non-essential travel and group gatherings for their staff. We understand that the likelihood of contracting COVID-19 may be low, but because not much is known about the virus and its impact, we have decided to take this proactive step to avoid contributing to any potential spread.
For those scheduled to attend, we thank you for understanding. If you have any questions regarding the Women's Leadership Luncheon or need further information, please contact Desiree DiGiovacchino at ddigiovacchino@cityyear.org...
#WHYISERVE is an opportunity for us to highlight the amazing young people who serve with City Year Philadelphia. Meet Sadie Sprague-Lott , a first year AmeriCorps member serving at Kensington High School. “When you talk about activism most people think of protests, marches, and movements, but City Year is a way to join a community that is asking you to be a part of social change. It’s a whole new realm of activism for me and something I forget that I get to be a part of daily. Organizations like this don’t get a lot of focus as “activism” because there is no one big boom of change, it takes time to undo inequalities. But the impact is there, and it is beautiful..” We’re excited to hear more of Sadie’s story on Tuesday, March 10th, at our Annual Women’s Leadership Luncheon where she will be speaking....
We are grateful to have had some new friends, and familiar faces, join us this morning at Penn Treaty School for breakfast and conversation about the great work City Year Philadelphia AmeriCorps members are doing! #pancakeswithpartners...
#WHYISERVE - Meet Tiara Dowling a first-year AmeriCorps member serving at Warren G. Harding Middle School. “I serve to give back to the city I live in, I cannot turn a blind eye to the injustices occurring within my city. To learn from my students is to learn how to be a better educator, person, and friend. The bonds I have made so far will be with me for the rest of my life. Our students are our future and they are going to be a force." #cyphilly #makebetterhappen #phillyphilly #americorps #cityyear...
