City Year Internships: An Overview of Opportunities and Experiences

City Year offers a unique and impactful internship experience through its AmeriCorps program. This article provides a comprehensive overview of City Year internships, exploring the application process, the role of an AmeriCorps member, the benefits and challenges of the program, and its overall impact on both the students served and the AmeriCorps members themselves. City Year is one national organization with 29 locations nationwide.

What is City Year?

City Year is a proud member of AmeriCorps and is one of the largest AmeriCorps programs in the country. As one 501(c)(3) organization, their staff is distributed across the country and work in a variety of roles and departments, including school service and impact, recruiting their corps, fundraising, and people and operations. City Year is a partner of Employers of National Service.

Applying to City Year

City Year is currently accepting applications to serve in the 2026-2027 school year. The role of an AmeriCorps member is tremendously rewarding but far from easy, which is why they’re selective with their application process.

Ideal Candidates

City Year AmeriCorps members are as diverse a group as the communities where they serve. They seek applicants with leadership experience, experience working with children or youth, experience with and a desire to build inclusive communities and a willingness to grow and learn.

Application Process

Submitting an application can be a stressful process. When you start an application, one of their recruiters will reach out to you. They recommend you schedule a 1:1 with your recruiter. Qualified candidates will be invited to schedule an interview with a City Year staff member. They use Calendly for scheduling, which allows you to pick a time that works best with your schedule. Log into your application portal to accept your offer.

Location Preferences

After selecting the “serve where most needed” option on your City Year application, you will be asked to list up to three locations out of their highest-need sites. Please consider your ability to relocate to these areas and the transportation options available at these sites. City Year will take your preferences into account, but they cannot guarantee that you will receive your top-ranked choice. If you do prefer one site in particular, they encourage you to not apply to their “serve where most needed” option and to apply that specific site directly. Please note, City Year Johannesburg requires that applicants be citizens of South Africa.

Reapplication Policy

If you are not offered an AmeriCorps member position, can I reapply for the next deadline? Unfortunately, you cannot reapply during the same year, even to another location. You are welcome, however, to reapply the following year. They encourage applicants who were not admitted to continue serving their community and strongly suggest that they explore other AmeriCorps or service programs in their local area or preferred region.

References

We recommend using a former or current manager, teacher/professor, coach or mentor. References cannot be friends or family members.

The AmeriCorps Member Experience

The term of service for AmeriCorps members begins in late July or early August of each year.

Role and Responsibilities

City Year AmeriCorps members are student success coaches. You're here because you see something: the need to provide support in local schools so that all students can engage more deeply with their learning and succeed. You see students with the talent, potential and desire to offer so much to the world but without adequate access to the learning environments and resources they need to thrive. So, you work with a team of your peers who share your commitment to service.

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City Year AmeriCorps members are not teaching aids or assistant teachers. City Year AmeriCorps members are near-peer mentor who work in tandem with teachers to ensure every child in the classroom is receiving the academic and personal investment they require in order to develop. AmeriCorps members and teachers will regularly meet on a weekly- if not daily- basis to review lessons and students’ progress throughout the year. Oftentimes, teachers have classrooms filled with 20-30 students. Despite how amazing the teacher may be, you can imagine how difficult it is to reach every single student and ensure each one is receiving the help they need in order to excel. City Year AmeriCorps members and teachers create a list of students (called a focus list) and identify those students who will need to be tutored either one on one or in a small group setting during their math and literacy blocks.

Making a Difference

Absolutely! AmeriCorps members are always encouraged to share their passions and interests with our students, particularly in the afterschool space. In many of their locations, AmeriCorps members write lesson plans for the afterschool program and create clubs. Students’ love of learning will strengthen when you teach them something you genuinely love, especially if it is something brand new. AmeriCorps members get really creative - chess clubs, acting clubs, step clubs, world cup soccer clubs, origami clubs, french cuisine clubs - the sky’s the limit! During small group or one-on-one tutoring, if you have creative ideas to teach a lesson to a student that involves role playing, drawing pictures, or even singing, then by all means go for it!

City Year does a great job collecting quantitative and qualitative data that reflects the effectiveness of the service AmeriCorps members are doing on a daily basis. They how that families of the students we serve are just as involved in our service as the teachers. They communicate with parents and guardians regularly to make sure students are attending school and also to update them on their child’s academic and behavioral progress. They also make a strong effort to engage parents and family members to attend City Year events at school and within the community.

Daily Life and Challenges

Serving as a City Year AmeriCorps member is a full-time position Monday through Friday, often with 10 hour workdays. For the 2023-2024 school year, they’re piloting a few roles that work an average of 40 hour and 25 hour work weeks to make service more accessible to everyone. What are some of the general challenges during your service year? At City Year, our student success coaches typically work anywhere between 10-12 hours each day. Those are long days. Despite all of the awesome work you are doing, naturally lengthy hours can catch up with you. Some days will be more challenging than others, but in those tough moments, leaning on your teammates is immensely beneficial. Each team makes it a point at the end of the day to debrief and meet together. At City Year, you will be coached on how to troubleshoot and be solution-oriented. You will receive frequent feedback when reaching out to your teammates and staff about challenges you face in your service whether it’s about life-work balance, a tough student or meeting a deadline. It’s also important to remember to utilize your weekends to relax and reflect.

Compensation and Benefits

As an AmeriCorps member you receive a bi-weekly living stipend. To help you learn to manage with limited income, we provide training and resources for managing personal finances. Yes, in most cases, student success coaches can request up to 12 personal days to use as needed. Please note, personal days vary by service term so check your offer letter for specific details. City Year does not provide housing for its AmeriCorps members. All City Year AmeriCorps members who are relocating 50 miles or more for service can receive a $500 (pre-tax) one-time relocation payment. In order to be eligible for this benefit, you must have relocated at least 50 miles to start service and be accepted, confirmed and have started service. Many of their locations have established partnerships with local public transportation authorities, which allow AmeriCorps members to receive free or discounted transportation passes throughout their year of service. To receive the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award, an AmeriCorps member must complete their service term, all City Year-required competencies and serve through the program’s graduation date.

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City Year offers a comprehensive benefits package that helps their employees live their best lives and grow personally and professionally. They aim to grow their staff as leaders. They offer a number of programs and opportunities that give professionals the skills to advance to the next stage of their career at City Year.

Life in Greater Boston

While Boston’s nickname is The Hub, known for being a vibrant center for academia, business, tech and medicine, some students in Greater Boston face significant challenges every day. Together we can help students build on their strengths and thrive. Greater Boston, with all its history, is also a modern, creative and energetic area for tech, biotech, education and more. Go into your City Year with resources and information from classroom environments to housing, and some hidden gems to help you feel like a part of the community during your City Year Greater Boston experience. We’ll walk you through how to use the MBTA to get across the city, how and where to find roommates and housing, and some hidden gems to make you feel like a local during your City Year Greater Boston experience.

Impact and Alumni Network

At City Year, we know that every child can succeed, and that when students succeed, we all benefit. More than 40,000 City Year alums are taking the skills learned during their year of service into their communities and the workforce. Join a community that helps you grow by helping others grow.

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