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.
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.
Everyone say hello to our newest City Year Philadelphia AmeriCorps members who are eager to #makebetterhappen. We are excited to welcome our mid-year corps who will be joining us for the second half of the service year!
Drop a comment below to thank them for their service!...
Before tonight’s @sixers vs. @celtics game, City Year Philly Corps and staff had the opportunity to have some court time courtesy of our long time champion and board member Art Block, from our team sponsor and partner @comcastuniversal ....
#WHYISERVE - Meet Anne Cheng a first-year AmeriCorps member from Seattle serving at Thomas Edison High School. “I serve because society tries to individualize people, celebrating the achievements of some at the expense of others. This ignores the privileges and opportunities that these people have been afforded that others may not have the chance to obtain. There is a systemic disparity in our society and those negatively impacted the most are the students that have been deprived of resources. I serve because I believe that education is the cornerstone of a successful society; it is not a privilege but a necessity that every student has equal access to learning. I serve to empower students to shatter the structural barriers that deprive them of accessing an equal education. I serve for my students and to help increase access to the education that every student deserves. “
2019 was a great year for the City Year Philadelphia Community. Let’s continue to #makebetterhappen in 2020!! #cyphilly #cityyear #phillyphilly #2019recap...
Ever wonder what a day in the life is like for our City Year Philly AmeriCorps members?
Tomorrow our AmeriCorps team at Penn Treaty School (@cy_wolfpack) will take over our Instagram story to give you an inside look. Tune in tomorrow to see what a typical day looks like at their school!
