Why City Year’s student success coach network matters

City Year’s “Why We Matter” podcast explores the vital role of education and mentorship in empowering young people. Through interviews with educators, student, and community leaders, the podcast delves into the transformative impact of student success coaches and the importance of supporting systemically under-resourced schools, which serve disproportionately high numbers of students living in lower income households and students of color. Each episode highlights inspiring stories and discusses the challenges and successes in fostering academic and personal growth.

Read on for insight from our latest episode where we interview Dr. Carlos Galan, City Year’s senior director of training and technical assistance, research, outcomes and evaluation. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity:

Before we start, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am a proud immigrant from El Salvador and a former ESL student. I migrated to the United States when I was 15 years old. I came to Los Angeles, which has been home for me and my family for the last 20 years. I attended what was probably the largest high school in California at that time, Belmont High School, which was served by City Year AmeriCorps members for several years.

I am proud to say that I benefited from the additional support that City Year offered at my alma mater—and that I also benefited from college access programs.

Because I am a former immigrant and I carry a lot of identities that a lot of underrepresented students and a lot of vulnerable communities in the education have in the United States, it helps me understand the needs—but also the opportunities available to—the vulnerable populations in our school communities.

What is the Student Success Coach (SSC) Learning Network and how is it having an impact in California schools?

The SSC Learning Network is an initiative launched by Governor Newsom through California Volunteers in partnership with City Year and other nonprofit AmeriCorps-based organizations. The network recruits, trains and deploys student success coaches to serve systemically under-resourced communities and schools.

As the senior director of research, outcomes and evaluation for City Year, I have one of the coolest jobs right now. I travel across the state to witness the impact of AmeriCorps members who serve as student success coaches with various organizations and witness how they work to serve and advance the needs of students who live in vulnerable communities.

As I shared earlier, I carry a lot of marginalized identities in education, and those marginalized identities are still the identities of students who are very much present in our educational ecosystem.

My own educational trajectory has benefited greatly from the possibility of having service members in our school and from having extra support services in school.

And across the state, over the last two years, I have witnessed how we have deployed almost 1,000 student success coaches to support approximately 70,000 students in the K-12 space. What impressed me the most was not only the impact that our student success coaches have when it comes to improving proficiencies in math, English, and college readiness, but also the impact that service has on our student success coaches.

Can you share a little bit more about the quantitative data regarding SSC impact?

I really want to focus on the possibilities of service. Some of the quantitative data that I have gathered working in partnership with organizations in our Student Success Coach Learning Network captures these possibilities.

Regarding academic growth, up to 74% of our students progress one level in literacy and/or math based on standardized test scores. When you think about proficiency or achievement, up to 51% of our students served by student success coaches meet their goal of advancing by one proficiency grade level.

And at the high school level, we can see the efforts of student success coaches translating into a 100% high school graduation rate for participating students. So, this really talks about the possibilities of what it’s like to have a student success coach working in schools.

This work isn’t just about quantitative data. Can you share a qualitative story about SSC impact?

One of the [quick] but beautiful stories in my head is this young student detailing how they had lost the fear of public speaking by working with a student success coach. They had lost the fear of reading out loud to the point that they became their spelling champion at their school.

This story really speaks to the power of what it’s like to have a trusting adult in the school system, not only when it comes to addressing social-emotional needs but also when it comes to developing confidence when it comes to developing academic outcomes for the students.

So, yes, it can be quantified, but it also does work that often cannot be quantified, but the impact is beyond imaginable.

Listen to the full episode here to learn more from Dr. Galan and about the quantitative and qualitative impact SSCs are having on schools.