A Recap of In School & On Track: A National Leadership Summit

By Audrey Kuo, City Year Los Angeles corps member

“All of our jobs in this room – young people, adults, we educators – we have the responsibility to unlock the potential of every young person that we come into contact with. More than ever, our students need to be engaged with a personalized learning experience.”

LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines was addressing a room that included people I wouldn’t normally have considered educators – philanthropists, executive vice presidents from multi-billion dollar corporations, producers from film and television.  But as he spoke, I realized that everyone attending City Year’s National Summit was there for the same reason – to reach out to young people and guide them on a path to lifelong success.

Throughout the summit, I was inspired to see not only the diverse corps members from across the City Year network, but the diversity of the people gathered in the ballroom of the Century Plaza Hotel, all working alongside us to end the high school dropout crisis.  The summit illustrated the importance of communication and collaboration, and of sharing strategies with other organizations and showing our impact to potential champions.  The data that City Year released proves how successful national service can be, providing what City Year President Jim Balfanz called a “second shift of caring adults” to support students.

But just as important as the hard numbers were the moving testimonials that corps members provided about the students they worked with.  In one video, a corps member’s eyes watered as she described the joy of a student receiving a 99 on a math test; at the beginning of the year, he had been unable to add or comprehend word problems.

City Year is growing, and as we continue to scale our impact and our mission to turn dropout factories into diploma factories, it will be important to remember the young people behind the statistics.  In Los Angeles, expanding the corps to 430 would mean giving 430 idealistic young people the chance to have one of those breakthrough moments.  It would mean reaching 33,100 students by putting a caring adult in each and every one of their lives.

The core values of City Year are a dynamic tension between the power of individuals working separately and our power working together as a team.  We are part of a 1,550-person strong oxymoron, a reminder that even the largest movement succeeds only when every single member does his or her part.

Closing Out the Summit Strong

By Patrick Kelly, City Year Los Angeles corps member

Garnished with chicken wraps and iced tea, the summit’s closing luncheon Wednesday afternoon was intended to reinforce the themes of the summit and inspire the audience to service.

It began with a focus on CYLA. Board member Ben Goldhirsh, who was instrumental in founding the Los Angeles site, explained that City Year’s proven tactics for success against the dropout crisis made it an obvious choice in confronting the city’s great educational needs. Donning a City Year bomber jacket and likening it to a superhero’s cape, he said that no other organization matches City Year’s efficiency.

Kerry Sullivan, president of the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, praised City Year and spoke of her company’s long sponsorship of Young Heroes, City Year’s weekend service-learning program for middle school students. The Young Hero of the Year award went to 13-year-old B. J. from Seattle. He loved making a difference in his community, and he said Young Heroes is his favorite activity. Playing off City Year’s slogan “Give a year, change the world,” he declared, “Give me a chance, and I will change the world.”

Michael Brown, CEO and co-founder of City Year, gave big appreciations to City Year’s sponsors and partners. The equation “knowledge equals responsibility” has greatly influenced him, he said, and we have a moral obligation to serve. City Year must take its next steps to scale up operations, even against the odds. He couldn’t wait to get back to work to get kids in school and on track.

Other guest speakers included:

• Shirley Sagawa, Visiting Fellow, Center for American Progress; Author, The American Way to Change
• Stephanie Wu, Senior Vice President & Chief Program Design and Evaluation Officer, City Year, Inc.
• Sean Holleran, Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, City Year, Inc.

Red-Carpet Leaders Join Red and Yellow Jackets to Discuss National Service

By Audrey Kuo, City Year Los Angeles corps member

After a red-carpet evening where City Year corps members opened for singer John Legend, the glamour of Hollywood carried through to Wednesday morning, when actress Anne Hathaway delivered the opening remarks for a panel on the entertainment industry’s role in motivating and mobilizing volunteers.

Hathaway referred to herself as a “baby philanthropist” and recounted an anecdote about annoying a teenager during a hospital visit.

“I was bombing, I was bombing hard,” Hathaway said. “I left feeling the great shame of do-gooders everywhere, that maybe I’d done more harm than good.”

Hathaway said that her experience taught her a valuable lesson about philanthropy and encouraged her fellow baby philanthropists to keep trying to become more thoughtful.

Following Hathaway’s remarks, moderator Jess Cagle, managing editor of Entertainment Weekly, then introduced panelists J.J. Abrams, the creator of “Felicity,” “Alias,” and “Lost”; Lisa Paulsen, president and CEO of the Entertainment Industry Foundation; Stacey Snider, Co-Chairman and CEO of DreamWorks; and John Schrieber, an executive vice president for Participant Media.

The panelists discussed their early relationships with service and education before entering a broader dialogue on how entertainers could best use their skills and resources to create social change. They agreed that it was important not to “lead with the spinach” – to spread inspiring messages in an entertaining way.

Abrams said entertainers needed to come from an emotional place, to deliver “something that is meaningful but not preachy,” borrowing from City Year culture when he discussed the “ripple effect of good” that could come from that type of project.

Schrieber used the example of “Furry Vengeance,” a film starring Brendan Fraser as a real estate developer whose plans are thwarted by rebelling forest fauna. To supplement the film’s environmental message, the studio delivered activity kits based on habitat protection to 17,000 teachers. He also discussed the upcoming documentary “Waiting for Superman” as a film that clearly illustrates the need for education reform.

Like the directors of philanthropies who spoke Wednesday morning, the panelists agreed on the importance of clearly expressing impact and tracking data. Snider said that her support of City Year came not only because of the feel-good stories, but because of the measurable gains that City Year Los Angeles Executive Director Allison Graff-Weisner was able to share.

“Education for me just seemed to have the highest impact,” Snider said. “If we can make the experience of going to school better for kids … (and) at least [help them] lead productive lives, and maybe even extraordinary lives, we all benefit from that.”

Celebrating Successes and Strategizing to Create More

By Audrey Kuo, City Year Los Angeles corps member

Day Two of “In School & On Track” kicked off with a series of thanks and exciting announcements, beginning with the unanimous approval of City Year sites in both Milwaukee and London.

Sophie Livingstone, executive director of City Year London, thanked the staff and volunteers who led them to operational readiness. “We’re really, really needed in London. We have a similar dropout crisis to the one you have here; we have a serious lack of role models.”

LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines opened the morning panel “Smart Investments in National Service to Address the High School Dropout Crisis.”

“Today, it takes more than a teacher, a classroom, a principal, a custodian and an office tech,” Cortines said about making educational progress. “It takes a partner, and let me tell you, we couldn’t have a better partner in the Los Angeles Unified School District than City Year.” He thanked City Year Los Angeles corps members for “changing the culture of our schools from despair to hope.”

Cortines’ remarks were followed by another well-received announcement: PepsiCo granted $6 million to expand Diplomas Now, building on PepsiCo’s original $5 million grant in 2008 to put the program in four cities.

PepsiCo Senior Vice President Larry Thompson was then joined by leaders from the S. Mark Taper, Walmart and Weingart foundations. Moderator Brian Gallagher, CEO of United Way Worldwide, led a discussion about the challenges nonprofits face in building capacity and debated the best ways for philanthropy to play a role in effecting social change.

The panelists each stressed the importance of hard data in making strategic investments. Ray Reisler, executive director of the Taper Foundation, suggested that philanthropy, along with contributing capital, should play a role in creating long-term databases to sustain impact and build collaboration.

Several of the panelists discussed the lack of broad-based civic participation after the activism of the ’60s and ’70s. Margaret McKenna, president of the Walmart Foundation, called for increased service learning alongside service to create long-term involvement in civic life.

“I think colleges and universities are failing to connect giving sandwiches in Harvard square to the public policy that creates homelessness,” she said, a fact that underscores a need for more civic participation and education.

At the end of the panel, City Year Los Angeles co-founder Andrew Hauptman stood from the audience to ask about money, the “elephant in the room.” Considering philanthropies’ limited financial resources, he asked, how should programs position themselves to be scalable? The panel unanimously responded that corporations and foundations needed to improve long-term planning and create strategies for broad collaboration.

A Recap of A Celebration of Hope and Achievement: An Evening Inspired by Those Who Serve and the Lives They Transform

By Jake Belknap, City Year Los Angeles corps member

I am happy to say that I was a part of the amazing event, “A Celebration of Hope and Achievement: An Evening Inspired by Those Who Serve and the Lives They Transform,” on the evening of May 18^th at Paramount Pictures.  The event was hosted by the Entertainment Industry Foundation, City Year’s co-host for In School and On Track: A National Leadership Summit, and featured a special musical performance by John Legend.

While the guests arrived and convened around the stage, corps members from across City Year’s network assembled just beyond view in a staging area behind some bushes.  Being a taller person, I peeked over some shrubs and noticed the attendees mingling and starting their meals.

Suddenly, a voice announced City Year, music was cued, and my fellow City Year corps members and I burst onto the stage and the surrounding pathways running, dancing, and exuding the energy we are so famous for.  The sea of red and yellow jacketed corps members then led physical training, highlighted the City Year dropout prevention service model, and shared testimonials of service.  My team stood in the middle of the venue, so I had a great view while we stood in formation.  It was pretty amazing to see corps members from across the network meeting on stage, doing physical training, and recounting their stories.

After our part was done, the Hollywood all-stars had their time on stage.  While Mary Hart and Sherry Lansing took the stage, the City Year corps members trickled into the background to watch the festivities.  Each spoke of the importance of service and the impact that City Year is making in addressing the nation’s high school dropout crisis.

The Entertainment Industry Foundation showed a video showcasing some of their recent work in adding the idea of service to television shows.   I was pleased to see Hollywood embrace service through such public spheres as The Office and 30 Rock, which are viewed by millions.  Lastly, if this was not enough, John Legend performed.  He had the whole crowd holding its collective breath for the first song and swaying to the last.

As a whole, I was glad to help show the crowd a little of what I do and was inspired by the effort that the entertainment industry has exerted to encourage service.

City Year corps members with John Legend