Each year City Year teams in all 16 schools will host some type of school service day in order to involve students in the process and implementation of service. Collins Academy had a special project in store to surprise their teachers. The coordinators of the Collins Service Day were Outreach Coordinator Senait Abate and Evaluation Coordinator/ Service Reserves Representative Aadil Ahmed.

Seeing that the teachers’ lounge looked a little bland the two decided to paint a mural and include some inspirational quotes for the lounge. The central theme was the mural, 9 pieces of 11x14 cardboard made up the image of a lone figure standing at the end of a yellow road with their hands outstretched into the air in triumph and Chicago’s skyline rests in the background shadowed by radiant orange and yellow rays. Accompanying the decorations were 5 quotes that were also put on cardboard and spread along the length of the lounge. The quotes were messages from known figures in history describing the importance of the teacher and education in society. An image of students graduating, a teacher instructing, and a picture of books on a shelf with an apple are three other images that were also included for color.

Senait and Aadil made all the necessary preparations such as tracing the boards with the images and securing a space for the project. The team helped recruit students and sophomores, juniors, and seniors were able to gain service learning hours for participating. The project was conveniently held in the art room. This made it much easier as students were able to paint on large tables and have easy access to paint and other supplies needed. The team also invited students to come paint in the City Year room for the next couple of days until the project was completely done.

On the last day of City Year teams being in the schools, May 18^th, instead of relaxing the Collins Academy team were busy with two events. The team held both a teacher breakfast and a freshmen luncheon on the same day.

Early morning, the team prepared a lovely assortment of dozens upon dozens of bagels, fresh fruit, and coffee for teachers before first period began. Teachers, staff, and faculty were welcome to lounge in the City Year room while they ate and chat with the corps members or each other. It was a casual and very relaxing way for the team to say goodbye.

Only a couple hours later the City Year team was at work once again but this time they hosted a luncheon for the entire freshmen class in the school’s courtyard. This was by far no easy task! Outnumbered over two dozen to one, the team had to be on their feet the entire time. However, seeing the students enjoy themselves outside and with each other was well worth the hassle. Sandwiches, chicken salad, cookies, lemonade, and popsicles were provided for the students.

As the year is coming to an end and City Year is forced to say goodbye, the BMO-Harris Bank Team at Collins Academy High School have a few encouraging words of wisdom to share.

The team was asked two questions about their experience this past year and here were their answers!

1)      1)    What has been the most rewarding experience for you during your time at Collins Academy?

2)     2)    If you could tell your student(s) or teacher(s) anything before you leave what would it be?

The most rewarding experience has been getting to know so many young people that come from a different background other than my own.

If I could tell my students anything, it would be that life is always going to be hard, and that it takes relentless effort to achieve the things worth experiencing.

James Smith Grattan

The most rewarding experience would have to be seeing the amazing personalities of my students and seeing each of them progress throughout the year. It was also very eye-opening for me to witness and hear the different background stories that students were willing to share with me.

To my students- you do not need the presence of someone in a red jacket to let you know that you are capable of doing whatever you set your mind to. Others can help you along the way but only you can ultimately finish that journey to success and happiness in life. I will miss you all dearly but don’t forget I am only an email away!

To Ms. Stolow- you are a wonderful and patient teacher and I know you will make remarkable changes to educate our youth. I am very humbled to have met such an inspiring person as you!

To Mr. Shay- your unique way of teaching helps to ensure that students are always engaged. Your facetious nature commands attention that students cannot resist but pay attention to. I love that I was able to witness and be a part of this incredible classroom dynamic!

Senait Abate

The most rewarding experience for me has been seeing the growth and development of my students in Physics. It was clear within the first week of school that many of my students were not used to the sciences and therefore did not have the critical and analytical skills needed. However, as the year has progressed it is clear to me that my students have become much better thinkers when it comes to the sciences. It is very rewarding to know that I was able to play a role in their development overall and that impact will carry on well after high school.  

To my students - You are all very smart, if you are confident and focused in school it will show. Strive to always be the best and don't give up when things become difficult. I will miss you all dearly. :-)

To Ms. Mendoza - You are an amazing and passionate teacher and it shows every time some one steps in the classroom. I've had a great time working with and learning from you. Thank you and I wish you all the best.  

Aadil Ahmed

My most rewarding experience at Collins has been building relationships with my students and seeing how those relationships have affected their lives and the decisions they make.  It has been such a powerful experience to know that I have helped my students grow and that they, too, have taught me so many new things.  

To my students: Remember to believe in yourselves.  Do not give up easily out of frustration or laziness. Know that you can achieve what you dream if you put your mind to it.  

To Ms. Hallberg: Thank you so much for everything you taught me this year.  I could not have asked for a better mentor to help me learn everything I needed to know along the way.  Your passion for teaching and dedication to your students is truly inspiring and is something I will carry with me when I have my own classroom someday.  

Elise Corrigan

The most rewarding experience for me has been to feel the change from a 'nervous newbie' wondering if the kids would even respond to me as an 'outsider,' to an advocate and defendant of our students and urban education, then watching that transformation and passion spread to the team during this year.  I'll be taking with me the confirmed belief that listening, high expectations, and respect are the key to everything in our world.

I would tell our students to remember the words of Dr. Suess - "You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose."  Choose wisely.

Nicole Lewis

The most rewarding experience throughout this year has been how much I have learned and grown from the relationship with my students. They have given me so much insight into the value of kindness, compassion, loyalty and honesty. Kids want and deserve respect just as we do and it has been a humbling growth experience for me as well as many of them.

I would like to share with my students that this experience has been unforgettable and I hope they have learned from me as much as I have learned from them. And to keep in touch so I can see them grow into mature, successful adults as well as feel free to contact me for any help, suggestions, or advice along the way!

Daniel Atkins

CITY YEAR: Where are you from, Ms. Audrey?

Audrey Morrow: I am from Mississippi, Tennessee and Missouri.  I've moved around a lot.  My family is semi-nomadic, so I prefer the question, "Where are you going?".

CY: Where do you serve at?

AM: I serve on the one and only Chicago Talent Development Charter High School team under the Diplomas Now! initiative.

CY: Where and what were you doing before City Year?

AM: I was in St. Louis, Missouri, working toward a Bachelor degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

CY: Why did you choose Chicago for City Year?

AM: I didn't!  I actually applied to City Year Columbus to be close to my siblings, who attend college and live in Ohio.  I ended up in Chicago because of some logistical jibber-jabber, believe it or not!

CY: What has been the biggest challenge thus far and how have you
worked to overcome it?

AM: My biggest challenge thus far has been trying to stay motivated on days when the results don't seem to reflect all of the work that has been put in.  My team has been my biggest support in keeping me in the right frame of mind and reminding me of all the ways that we make an impact in spite of whatever obstacles are in our way.  Taking their advice, being open to their feedback, and letting them be my support system is the only way I can make it through this year in one piece.

CY: What have you enjoyed the most thus far being a corps member?

AM: Relationships with students is why I joined City Year and why I'm still here.  When the dosage goals have been met, the chants have died down, and the grades have been etched in stone, there are still children who still need encouragement, discipline, and love.  I love having a cohort instead of a teacher because I have been able to become their leader in a much different, more personal way than teachers can.  I won't remember numbers or chant lyrics or letter grades, but I'll remember their faces, their names, their dreams and aspirations and the impact that we have had on each other.

CY: What do you hope to accomplish for the rest of the year?

AM: I hope to continue to encourage my students to operate with a spirit of discipline to always strive to do and be their best, to thirst for purpose in their lives so that they can become the solutions to their own problems, and to look at the world and their place in it as just one of many possible paradigms that their own actions can affect for the better.

CY: If there is one thing that you would want the students of CTD to
know about you, what would it be?

AM: That I'm on their side.

CY: What are your plans after your city year?

AM: To take over the academic and cultural facets of my father's non-profit youth organization and put the skills that I've learned this year to work so that students in rural areas, who are also being failed by the education system but do not get as much attention or resources as urban areas, can get some love, too.

CY: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

AM: Teleportation.  It's all the benefits of being able to fly and be invisible at the same time, as far as I'm concerned.

CY: You just won the lottery, what do you do first?

AM: Open a school and recruit my team to staff it.  

            The first day I met Jalen I was a little intimidated. He came into class the second day I was with his cohort and the first thing he said to me was “Oh, you’re our City Year, f*@k off.” As you can see, we started off on a great note. As August turned to September some trouble arose with Jalen: he was late everyday, he did not turn in any HW, and he was constantly disrupting class. Soon, he was placed on my English and Behavior Focus List. Now, I’m forced to work with him in one-on-one settings, but whenever I try to take him down to the City Year room, I see his confidence fade, as he starts to call it the “Slow kids’ room”.

            Midway through the first quarter he is brought up in our Early Warning Indicator meetings, weekly meeting where City Year, counselors and teachers look at students’ attendance, behavior and course performance to see which students need an intervention, and I was chosen as Jalen’s responder to help facilitate his intervention. I met with him and talked about his low grades, poor attendance, and high number of detentions. He told me he was held back his freshmen year, wanted to graduate on time, and he seemed to understand his situation, but after a week he was not making much progress.

            So I tried to find another way to motivate him; instead of addressing his situation head-on, I tried to get to know him a little better, build his trust, and then discuss his grades with him. I knew he loved Lil Wayne, so the day Tha Carter IV came out I asked him how he felt about how it compared to Tha Carter III. We talked about how Wayne’s dropped off and Tha Carter IIIWatch the Throne compared to anything by Lil Wayne, then so be it).  During this time I’d also give him assignment trackers to catch up on any missed work from the first quarter, but I can tell he was hesitant to take them, and at the end of the first quarter he was still failing all of his classes. was way better. Now, we started arguing about rap music in class, and I would pull him out of class to talk about music (crazy, I know, but I was desperate to build a relationship with this guy, and if that meant pulling him out of History to discuss the merits of

            On the last day of the first quarter I showed him his grades, and I can tell he was upset because he knew it was too late to pass the quarter, but I encouraged him because he was failing all of his classes with 40’s and 50’s and now he was only failing them with 60’s. For the cynics, they can say I failed him first quarter because I did not get him to pass, but thankfully City Year has programmed me to be an idealist, so I looked past those failing grades and marveled at the progress. Jalen vowed to me he would work harder in the second quarter and for the rest of the year, which is he did.

            During the second quarter his grades in English, Math and History shot up, and the week before finals he was passing English and he had a 68 in Math and a 69 in History. He aced his English exam; he needed a 70 on his History exam to pass History, and he gets a 71; now it all boiled down to his Math final. Before the Math exam he comes up to me and says, “Mr. Pete, you’ll be in the Math exam right?” I say, “Yeah Jalen, of course I’ll be there.” He nods his head, smiles, and says, “ Good, because you’re like my personal motivator man, I need you there so I can do well and pass.” Sadly, despite my presence he only scored a 60 on the Math exam and failed. But he didn’t fail by 20 or 30 points; it was only by 2 points, and the teacher gave him the some extra points on his exam for his hard work to bring his grade up, so with a little boost he passed all of his classes. 

            Now, Jalen and I are close, and every week he tells me he’s checking his grades to see his progress. He passed all of his classes during the third quarter, and he talks with me every week about his grades and what he’s going to do to continue passing his classes. Every Corps Member fears they will leave City Year without making an impact on a single student; I can safely say that my own fear has been assuaged.

The Diplomas Now Team serving at Chicago Talent Development Charter High School will complete their service year in the classrooms on Friday, May 18^th. Starting in August, the CTD team was in class from Day 1. Throughout their 9 months of service, much was undertaken and much was completed with excellence. When more was asked of them, more was given. However, the true benefactors of this year of service are the nearly 200 students at CTD.

Some examples of this were the 24 VIP lounges that were held for freshmen, sophomore, and junior students with stellar attendance at the end of each month. When not throwing a VIP lounge, team CTD was putting on Family Engagement Nights.   For spring break, the CY team offered a space for students to enrich their skills in Math and English while learning the sports of handball and rugby. This 4 day program allowed students to get to know each other better, improve their grades and comprehension for certain concepts, as well as meet student from different schools in Chicago.

On a more day-to-day basis, corps members put on their mentoring hats during lunch for Students Who Achieve Greatness (SWAG) sessions. In this unique environment, corps members would mentor and challenge students to become true leaders both in and outside of the classroom. Corps member Audrey Morrow was the leader of these lunches and truly poured her heart and soul into making this initiative a success.

Yet the real work was in the classroom, as 8 corps members provided in class support to the 9^th and 10^th grade classes as well as after school homework help for the whole school. Focusing on students’ attendance, behavior, and course performance, corps members were able to push students toward professionalism in the classroom as well as have them push toward a strong work ethic. While accomplishing all of this in the classroom, the corps members were able to forge strong relationships with the students at CTD.

However, the CTD team would be remiss if it did not thank the staff at Chicago Talent. Through powerful collaboration on all fronts, the community at CTD was able to pull off all of these powerful events and plenty more that are not mentioned. When the team goes in for its final spirit break on May 18^th, they will be carrying a legacy of CTD excellence with them wherever they end up.