City Year Columbia

Today in Columbia, many children grow up in low-income communities and are already grade levels behind their peers in both math and reading. Nearly half of these children will not graduate from high school.

City Year Columbia Serves to Keep Students in School and On Track to Graduation

Each year, 24 young leaders from all over the United States move to Columbia for their City Year. From 7:00am-5:30pm, Monday through Friday, City Year AmeriCorps Members serve in two districts, Richland One and Lexington Four, and three schools. As tutors, mentors and role models, City Year AmeriCorps members make a difference in the lives of children and transform these schools and the surrounding neighborhoods.

A Transformative Partnership

City Year Columbia has partnered with Richland County School District One for the past 20+ years to increase the graduation rates in the District's most high need schools. For the past four years, they've also partnered with Lexington Four School District to address the need of the Gaston/Swansea schools as well. This year, City Year Columbia corps members serve full-time on diverse teams in three schools:

• J P Thomas Elementary School, Richland One
• Sandhill's Elementary School, Lexington Four
• Francis Mack Middle School, Lexington Four

As a City Year AmeriCorps member you’ll not only make a measurable impact in the lives of the students and communities you serve, but you’ll grow as an individual, too. During your 10 months of in school service, you’ll develop leadership and professional skills that will help you advance in your career after City Year—whether you choose to go into nonprofit, law, medicine, or something entirely different.

At City Year, we’re working to bridge the gap in high-poverty communities between the support that students actually need, and what their schools are designed and resourced to provide. In doing so, we’re helping to increase graduation rates across the country, and changing the lives of the students we serve.

At City Year, we believe education has the power to help every child reach his or her potential. However, in high-poverty communities there are external factors and obstacles students are faced with every day that can interfere with their ability to both get to school and be ready and able to learn.

Through our data-driven approach and by coming together with our partners and schools, City Year is continuing to make a measurable impact in the lives of the students and communities we’re serving, and we've got the results to show for it.