Living in Seattle certainly comes with a lot of perks. Coffee, ferries, mountains, biking and more. We believe helping thousands of students in Seattle Public Schools reach their full potential tops the list.
While Seattle is widely known for being a vibrant center for academia, business, tech and medicine, some students in Seattle face significant challenges every day. Our school district serves more than 15,000 students across 125 schools.
I served because I come from an under-resourced zip code, and my passion is to help other youth in underserved areas. It was a great privilege to witness the strength and resiliency in the youth and families I worked with. Today, I carry my City Year experience with me as a school social worker.
Jo-an Lanzaderas City Year Seattle/King County ’17
Your corps experience
City Year is a key partner to the Seattle Public Schools District (SPS) in creating equitable learning opportunities for all students and in developing the city’s future leaders. AmeriCorps members support teachers and staff in delivering instruction that serves the development of the whole child and is responsive to the diverse racial, cultural and linguistic needs of Seattle youth.
A close-knit community with ample opportunities to develop meaningful personal and professional relationships, Seattle is an ideal place to serve. SPS believes it is their responsibility to do whatever it takes to ensure that every child, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, language proficiency, learning style or disability, achieves their highest level.
By engaging students, families and other community organizations, City Year Seattle helps to fight against systemic racism in our education system, striving to be an anti-racist youth centered organization and is proud to partner with SPS.
Serving in Seattle schools
Serve in one of ten elementary and middle schools throughout the Seattle area. The schools we serve in are part of vibrant and diverse communities—147 languages are spoken in SPS. You will work with students from many different cultures and background and work alongside committed, caring educators. The vast majority of our AmeriCorps members live in Southeast or Southwest Seattle, in the same neighborhoods as our students and families and take public transportation (provided free to AmeriCorps members) to service each day. Watch this short video to get an inside look at our work in Seattle:
Working on a team
Work with a committed and diverse group of 6–10 other City Year AmeriCorps members who share your passion for service and personal growth on your school team, along with a team leader, an AmeriCorps member who returned for a second year to help support first Year AmeriCorps members. You will also be supported by a program manager dedicated specifically to your school.
Our fantastic program managers (PMs) are staff members who lead each team of AmeriCorps members through their experience in service, partnering with school leadership to ensure that City Year Seattle is best serving students and school communities. PMs observe and coach AmeriCorps members in their work with students, meet regularly to discuss their service experience, and provide guidance for the team on whole school initiatives and activities. Our PM team is full of inspiring, passionate, committed individuals and makes Seattle a great place to learn and grow during your year of service.
Professional development
City Year Seattle provides our corps with four full weeks of training, including a hands-on practicum experience, before the school year begins. Professional development focuses on tutoring best practices, social-emotional learning, trauma-informed care, and more.
We also prioritize learning and growing in the topic of race and equity—what we consider our core work. All staff and AmeriCorps members will participate in five race and equity summits throughout the year, which includes race-based affinity groups. We believe that to best serve our students and families, this is crucial learning for all of us.
We also provide career readiness opportunities throughout the year, hosting grad school fairs, resume and interview workshops, and bring in leaders from various sectors to share their experience with AmeriCorps members. There are also a number of committees AmeriCorps can apply to join that give you an opportunity to see a different side of the non-profit world and creating programming for CYSKC, such as the race and equity committee, learning and development committee or ambassadors (supporting telling the City Year story to champions and donors in the community).
Community involvement
Create a positive climate of high expectations and engagement that ripples throughout the greater Seattle community, with opportunities to support other organizations and initiatives within the school district as a volunteer, attend events focused on important education issues, and connect with community leaders.
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.
#Repost @cityyearsa with @make_repost
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Today, @cityyear welcomes Joe Biden as our 46th President and Kamala Harris as the first Black and South Asian woman Vice President—a historic milestone for our nation. We’re excited for our students to experience this moment and be inspired by possibilities for the future.
Early this week, City Year Seattle/ King County staff and corps joined over 200 external City Year Champions and community partners for a Virtual Community Summit to honor the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
As part of this event, we:
• Heard from local community leaders and equity professionals: Independent Education and Systems Consultant, Erin Jones, Director of Special Education at Seattle Public Schools, Tarra Mitchell, and Corporate Equity and Inclusion Professional, James Thomas, about the importance of racial and education equity in creating a more just world ✊
• Engaged program participants in dialogue and community reflection about the role each of us play in realizing Dr. Kings’s “Beloved Community” 🌎
• Participated in a virtual Art-in-a-Box tile mural project that will be donated to the students at Wing Luke Elementary 🐉 🔥
HUGE THANKS 😊 to everyone who supported and participated in this awesome event! And, special shout out to our Civic Engagement ⛏🎨 team, for creating such a special day.
Stay tuned for more updates on the mural project in the coming weeks ❤️
THIS Saturday, January 9th, our team at Highland Park will be helping out at Health Fair: an event created in partnership with our Family Support Worker, @kcpubhealth, @neighborcare. There will be free COVID testing, mammograms, food, flu vaccines available, as well as gift cards, and places to sign up for health insurance before open enrollment ends next Friday.
Link in bio ⬆️ Spread the word and hope to see you there!...
@cityyear acknowledges the stark difference and hypocrisy between the treatment of those who rioted yesterday and those who marched for Black lives just a few months ago. We share the collective frustration that is being expressed by so many.
While the acts in Washington attempt to threaten our democracy—of which free elections and peaceful transfer of power are key--we know that hope and purpose remain.
In the last several months, our country has exhibited a deep desire for change demonstrated by record-breaking protests against racism, a historic presidential election, and much more. These demonstrations of hope and resiliency are our focus. May acts of hope, love, and commitment to change continue to be our guide in this new year.
Please stay safe as we continue to take care of ourselves and each other. ❤️
Last chance to register for City Year Seattle / King County's MLK Day of Service Virtual Community Summit!
Register by THIS FRIDAY, January 8th and we will mail you an Art-in-a-Box service kit, so you can help us build a mural for @seattlepublicschools. Link in bio ❤️