Empowering Students Through Holistic Support

Youth economic advancement

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

The students CYLA serve face everyday obstacles such as hunger, homelessness, lack of access to healthcare, and exposure to violence that impact their ability to focus and excel in school. Additionally, the social emotional fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has not only increased anxiety and depression, but it is also causing increases in truancy and school violence.
Achieving educational equity for these students’ learning was challenging before COVID-19, and the pandemic has disproportionately impacted these very same students. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported “more than 40 percent of high school students had persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness; 22 percent had seriously considered suicide; 10 percent reported that they had attempted suicide”, illustrating the deep need for emotional support for students and the work our ACMs do each day as students continue to grapple with trauma symptoms such as anxiety and economic instability.

Teams of AmeriCorps members deployed to our partner schools work together every day of the school year and serve alongside teachers with a focus on the following key support elements: Academic: ACMs lead small group and 1:1 tutoring sessions for students, host office hours, and create opt-in opportunities for academic enrichment throughout the school week. Attendance: ACMs monitor attendance and follow up with regular check-ins and phone calls to parents. Social-Emotional Development (SED): City Year trains all ACMs to ensure they actively support students’ wellbeing. We use a combination of diagnostic academic assessments and the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) to identify and focus on students who can benefit most from SED interventions. Whole School: ACMs become a part of the fabric of the school serving in various whole school capacities. ACMs complete various projects around the campus such as mural painting and other campus beautification projects, teacher appreciation presentations, whole school activities, and more. Extended Learning Time: ACMs contribute beyond the school day itself, providing services before and after school. From tutoring students to facilitating STEM clubs and coaching sports, these extracurricular activities enrich students’ overall educational experience.

If the work of CYLA is successful, thousands of students each year will receive the academic and social and emotional support necessary to succeed in school and beyond. Thousands more LA students will have the tools, both academic and emotional, to graduate and pursue higher education or a career, creating a more equitable Los Angeles where young people can receive the tools necessary to be not only successful academically, but achieve better economic outcomes. CYLA believes that any student can be great, no matter their zip code, and is honored to continue the work to ensure all students shine.

CYLA utilizes data-driven strategies to achieve academic and social-emotional targets for students in our partner schools. To date for the 2023-24 school year, CYLA: Provided 11,608 hours of one-on-one academic support to 1,138 focus list students
Provided more than 5,012 students with in-class support
ACMs served in 301 classrooms
ACMs led 10,821 Social Emotional Development sessions with students
Provided more than 19,365 hours in enriching after school programming to students CYLA collects data multiple times each year to monitor the progress of our programs through formalized channels for feedback from teachers and principals, internal databases/assessments to track our interventions with students; and school data on attendance, behavior, and course performance. CYLA uses student letter grades to track academic progress and monitor attendance, ensuring our interventions remain targeted and individualized to each student.