IU graduates to work with at-risk youth through City Year

International nonprofit City Year tries to keep children in school.

Next year, several IU graduates will join the program’s group of core members. They will spend four days a week working closely with some of the country’s most at-risk youth.

One million students in America drop out of school each year, according to the organization’s website. Twelve percent of the country’s schools account for 50 percent of those drop outs.

“Our goal is to keep at-risk students in school, keep them from dropping out and keep them connected with learning,” said Kria Sakakeeny, the media relations manager at City Year Headquarters. “We have a long-term goal so that by 2023, we will be helping 80 percent of the students that we work with reach the 10th grade on track and on time.”

Students who make it to the 10th grade with their peers are four times more likely to graduate than students who fall behind, according to the website.

City Year serves in 25 U.S. locations as well as Johannesburg, South Africa, and London.

Though more seniors will be accepted into the program Monday, there are several soon-to-be graduates who have already heard back from the program’s coordinators.

Senior Emma Kravitz was chosen to spend her year in Denver. She learned about City Year during her study abroad experience with Semester at Sea.

Kravitz said volunteering with children during her semester abroad had a strong influence on her decision to work with City Year.

“I think I’m most excited just for something completely new,” Kravitz said. “I’ve worked with kids before, but I’m excited to do something completely out of my comfort zone and I’m excited for the challenge.”

Sakakeeny said City Year takes a different approach than other programs like Teach For America because the core members are not the main teachers in the classrooms.

“We provide support to teachers who respond to the more individual needs of students in the class,” Sakakeeny said. “The idea we talk about is the reality of what schools need and what schools can provide. Our core members are there to bridge that gap.”

While working for the program, members spend one-on-one time with especially high-risk students and analyze data to discover the roots of the students’ struggles in school.

“The way they approach kids is to analyze their attendance, their behavior and their course performance,” Kravitz said. “It’s figuring out where the students’ issues arise.”

Kravitz said she likes City Year’s thorough approach.

“It’s a lot of after-hours programs and figuring out what’s going on at home,” she said. “So it’s not just doing your job and then at the end of the day you go home. It goes deeper than that.”

Senior Jenny Siegel will start working for City Year’s Chicago branch next fall.

“I’m excited to move to a new city and see how I’m able to help and get to know the kids on a personal level,” Siegel said. “I’m really mostly excited to meet the kids and form relationships with them.”

Sakakeenv said there are many benefits to being a City Year member.

“They learn a lot about leadership, time management, organization, data-analysis and public speaking,” she said. “They also get an education award that they can apply towards graduate school.”

For Siegel, one of the main benefits of the program is the opportunity to have a gap year before beginning her professional career. Program members are not students, but they aren’t employees, either.

“I have a year to explore and find myself,” she said. “I have no idea what I want to do after this year, and I feel like a lot of seniors are rushing into jobs that they don’t know they’ll be happy in. I want to give myself another year to see what’s out there.”