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Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, helping kick off City Year in LA Unified schools.
LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti were on hand today to help 288 City Year Los Angeles members kick off a year of service in LA schools during a high-energy ceremony on the south lawn of City Hall.
The ceremony began as the City Year members, dressed in matching yellow or red jackets, burst forth from the sides of City Hall, running down the steps and cheering as loud music pumped up the crowd.
City Year, which is part of the national organization, AmeriCorps, involves recent college graduates working in local schools throughout the year. City Year focuses on schools in areas with high poverty rates, and workers mentor students who are struggling or at risk of dropping out through in-class tutoring and after school programs.
This year, the program will focus on 25 LA Unified schools as it celebrates its 8th year in Los Angeles.
“You are here because you get results now, not later, not forever,” Deasy told the City Year members. “And we do have to fight every day to lift youth out of poverty. We depend on you as a partner, and we are very lucky.”
Garcetti took the stage wearing one of the matching yellow City Year jackets.
“Congratulations on City Year, you look beautiful today,” he said. “In this incredible city to see this sea of activism of passion, of purpose, of transformation, we know that you are truly angels in this city of angels today.”