Americorps Week 2016: Six Stories from the Classroom

*Any student names from the stories below have been changed to protect their identities.

For over 20 years, ACE Teachers have been proud AmeriCorps members, and each year AmeriCorps—which is part of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)—recognizes the commitment of its members and alums by highlighting their efforts during AmeriCorps Week.

This year, AmeriCorps Week will be celebrated across the country on March 5-12. AmeriCorps Week is a time to salute AmeriCorps members and alums for their service, thank AmeriCorps community partners, and communicate AmeriCorps impact on communities and on the lives of those who serve. Here are stories from six ACE Teaching Fellows about their experiences as AmeriCorps members.

Margaret Prakel || 3rd Grade
Santa Cruz Catholic School || Tucson, Arizona

Until now, one of my students had never completed a full weekly reading log. His home life was extremely unstable, and I did my best to understand and accommodate the fact that no one at his home monitored his reading time or provided good books for him. I’d sent books home with him from school, replaced missing folders after missing folder, and gave him small incentives for completing at least one night’s worth of reading and summarizing. Nevertheless, he always came to school with either a blank reading log or no reading log at all.

Finally, one Monday morning, the student marched into my classroom early at 7:30 A.M. waving a reading log high in the air. “I have read the newspaper,” he declared, and laid the reading log on my desk so I could see that he summarized the cover story about a retiring teacher at the University of Arizona. I had him take a “victory lap” around the empty classroom, and he jogged around the circle of desks, hoisting his reading log in the air.

After weeks and weeks of constant reminders, incentives, and notes home, my student completed his reading log on a weekend when I had almost given up setting a goal for him. I hadn’t even reminded him to do his readings that weekend - which is why I was so surprised he remembered at all. “I saw the newspaper article and it reminded me of you, because it’s about a teacher,” he said. If anything, my student hadn’t forgotten me over the weekend. A simple reminder such as the word “teacher” gave him the idea of doing his homework for the first time. I realized that even though I might believe most of my lessons as an inexperienced teacher are ineffective, students remember the impact you made at any time. It could be weeks, months, or even years after the lesson is taught but students will someday remember. Even though frustration takes over so frequently as a first-year teacher, this realization gives me energy to continue.

Alexa Aragon || 6-8th Grade
Guadalupe Regional Middle School || Brownsville, Texas

One of my students was really struggling to focus during the first part of the semester. He rarely finished assignments and he was very disorganized. I realized how much support he needs during class so I began sitting him near the front where I could keep an eye on him and I was very vigilant during every task we did. The more I pushed him the more he responded positively and began doing more of his work. We started science notebooks and this has been very helpful for him to keep all his assignments in the same location. This also makes it easier for him to study.

All of these have helped him improve in his academics, but where we have seen him thrive most is in extracurricular activities. I bought a class pet frog a few months ago and Jeremy has been one of the best care takers. Even though he struggled to be responsible with his homework, he has been there every single morning to feed the frog and clean the tank. I found that when he was given responsibilities like this he rose to the occasion. A few weeks ago, Jeremy was in a group of students that I took to a local soup kitchen. Jeremy was amazing at the soup kitchen. He saw the need and immediately filled it. When people needed refills or if someone did not get a cookie, he was the first to notice and do something about it. Some of the students were cautious around the homeless people who came to the kitchen, but Jeremy fully embraced them. Jeremy has such a big heart and when he sees a need he genuinely wants to help, without doing it for anything in return or for anyone else to see.

I have learned that it is very important to give our students opportunities to learn outside of the typical classroom setting. Jeremy has gained confidence as he has been involved in these extracurricular experiences and this is becoming evident in the classroom as well. He has been focusing more and working hard. As a teacher, I need to be able to find the strengths of my students and help them to develop those strengths while improving areas that may be weaker. When a child knows that a teacher sees their strengths that gives them the confidence to trust and work hard.

Josef Broderick || 8-11th Grade
Archbishop Shaw High School || New Orleans, Louisiana

Some lessons simply cannot be learned from a textbook. I learned this during my first semester of teaching when a student of mine looked particularly distressed. I pulled him aside at the end of class one day and asked him how things were going. He replied that he was discouraged about the grades he was receiving in his classes and how finding a friend group to “fit in” was challenging. He was failing my French 1 class and it was evident he wasn’t making many friends when he would sit by himself every day during lunch. I was touched the way this boy opened up to me since this was the beginning of the school year. Perhaps there was comfort in knowing that we were both new to our school.

After our initial conversation, both Robert and I made an effort to converse with one another during lunch. It wasn’t until a week or so thereafter where other students would join us. We would talk about sports, play card games, and share jokes with one another. Eventually, I would leave the table earlier each day so this student could socialize with pupils his age for longer periods of time. As basketball season approached, I encouraged Robert to try out for the team. While he wasn’t hesitant to try out for the team (it is his favorite sport), I could tell he was skeptical about making the team given his history of knee injuries. Luckily, Robert accepted my request of rebounding for him so he could work on his shooting form. If he wasn’t going to be among the fastest on the team, he was going to be one of the best shooters. 

Fast forward three months. Anytime Robert now approaches me in the cafeteria it is to question if I have seen any of his friends to chat with or play card games. Go to any JV basketball game and you’ll hear Robert’s name in the starting lineup. As for his grades, Robert increased his GPA from a 2.5 in his first semester to a 3.0 in his second. I attribute Robert’s success story not to my willingness to help him outside of the classroom, but instead because Americorps’ mission to provide pathways to America’s youth for opportunities of their own service toward others while learning to appreciate valuable work skills and develop an appreciation for citizenship.

Darby Evans || 6-8 Grade 
All Saints Catholic School || Fort Worth, Texas 

As an AmeriCorps member, part of my duties are to teach my students about social justice issues and inspire them to think of creative ways to address these injustices in our society. The practice is very fulfilling for me, as one of the reasons I am here is to correct educational injustice in whatever way I can. Thus, it is truly an honor for me to be able to explicitly teach the need for social justice to my students. 

One day, while discussing ways that a sixth grader can contribute to helping those in need, my class decided (without prompting from me) that we should do something for the poor around the holidays. The students had heard about a campaign on social media called Socktober asking participants to donate socks or clothes to the needy. We were forming our plans a bit late to participate in that particular campaign, so my students settled on the name “Socksgiving”, and a school-wide sock drive was born, spearheaded by my homeroom.

The project truly was theirs. They brought in collection boxes and decorated them and created artwork for the flyers. With some help and coaching, the students prepared posters to announce their plans and bravely stood in front of the school to share their cause. I was impressed by the maturity my young middle schoolers demonstrated and encouraged that they were willing to put in the extra time and effort into a project that did not benefit themselves. The students gathered over 70 packages of socks over a two-period, and they were donated to a local shelter. I am proud to think that, in some small way, my time as an AmeriCorps volunteer has had a ripple effect of service among my students.

Scott Kinkley || 6-12 Grade
St. Joseph School || Petersburg, Virginia

Over my two years teaching as part of Americorps, I have developed countless relationships with students and colleagues alike. As a teacher, many times it is hard to see the impact you are having and can be a frustrating exercise in delayed gratification. Up to this point, I have had very positive and fulfilling relationships with my students, but I was never quite sure if I was truly reaching them or what kind of impact I was having. This past week, one of my 8th grade students reminded me of the impact teachers can have and why we do what we do.

One of the 8th grade girls in my class is a first generation American whose parents immigrated from Mexico. She will be turning 15 soon and in Mexican culture the Quinceanera is a coming of age celebration. During this celebration, there are several special guests invited to serve special purposes in the ceremony. Long story short, my student asked me to serve as the guest of honor during her celebration. As the guest of honor, you become a symbolic member of the family and serve as a role model and mentor. This helped me to realize the true impact I am having on my students. I was honored when she asked me to be the guest of honor and it is serving as a great reminder to always serve my students with love and respect because it is paying dividends even when I do not realize it.

Tyler Popa || 5-6th grade
St. John Vianney Catholic || Goodyear, Arizona

I have been a coach for the St. John Vianney Eagles middle school sports program for over a year. I took over the flag football team in August of 2014. We have energetic boys who want to learn and have fun, but have little to no experience with football let alone organized sport. These boys have spent 3-4 days a week in a hot Arizona summer learning how to catch, but also what a line of scrimmage and a first down were. We spent a long season working tirelessly to end up 0-7-1. It was difficult and, by the end of the season, hard to show up to a game with a sense of confidence. Next season brought on basketball. We had little expertise of knowledge of the game, but boys came to play again. Whether it was naivety or true hope that brought them, I do not know for sure. I was more than happy to teach and be present for these boys who seldom have very good male role models. The season progressed and we were still winless. Then came our game against our rivals to whom we had already lost to that season. Again hope prevailed and after countless losses and a tie in both basketball and football, we tasted victory. The final whistle blew; pure joy ensued. It was the happiest moment I have ever witnessed for 11 & 12 year old students who had only ever known what it felt like to lose.