In Duval County, the reverberations of the City Year program's influence are palpable within the halls of Rutledge Pearson Elementary School. Team Duval alumnus Takeyah Austin is a testament to the program's cyclical nature of giving and receiving—as she now serves as a City Year corps member at the very institution that once offered her critical support. Austin's narrative is a poignant slice of the broader initiative that sees corps members like herself fostering the crucial ties of community and inspiration in schools.
"Coming to school made me feel happy, and I could see that my teachers cared about me," Austin expressed, her emotions bare as she reminisced on her own educational journey which was buoyed by City Year's presence, according to a recent report by the Duval County Public Schools. She now stands among the 70 corps members districtwide, reinforcing the mission in nine schools, and bringing full circle the support she once gratefully received.
The program's methods are simple yet have proven effective since City Year's inception in Duval schools in 2013. Among these methods is the energizing "power greeting," a morning ritual that infuses the start of the school day with undeniable enthusiasm and warmth. "You might have had a really rough morning. But then, when you walk into the building and you have the power greeting happening, how can you not be happy?" Rutledge Pearson Principal Katie Adkins remarked on the tradition, recognizing its power to uplift and unite everyone who steps through their doors, as noted by the Duval County Public Schools.
Beyond the morning revelries, the lasting impact of the City Year program emanates through its mentorship and academic assistance. Corps members collaborate closely with educators, tutoring students, facilitating small groups, and bolstering attendance initiatives. "Everybody, when they come to school, deserves to have a caring human being who can motivate, inspire, and maybe even guide," Adkins emphasized the essential nature of the relationships cultivated by corps members with their charges. For Takeyah Austin, such connection is not a mere aspiration but the very pulse of her daily commitment to the children she serves, hoping to be "a teacher that somebody can come to and talk about whatever they want to talk about — and help them," as per the Duval County Public Schools.
