#iamvista

In 2015, the Mayor’s Office partnered with intermediary organization Arizona Serve at Prescott College to apply for an Operation AmeriCorps grant, which harnessed all three streams of the national service program to implement a community schools model in eight different high schools across three districts. This model transforms school campuses into resource hubs that can be conveniently accessed by community members who are already served by those schools.

Mayor Rothschild said that by the end of the first year the initiative was able to assist more than 2,800 students through bi-weekly resource nights at the schools, connecting students and families with federal student aid and tax prep, enrolling students in college savings accounts, and other methods.

The mayor added that the program succeeded by focusing on what the students needed on the ground, having AmeriCorps service members in the schools to find the students, and getting the nonprofits to work within the schools. This success, paired with support from local officials, made a clear path to continue the Tucson Community Schools Initiative.

Speaking of newly awarded funding, Arizona Serve Director Ben Olsen said that the grant will “fund 77 AmeriCorps positions across 10 schools, we are expanding into middle schools, and are excited to expand our partnership with Higher Ground. It’s really focused on empowering students and helping them develop a positive vision for their future.” This expanding partnership includes Arizona Serve at Prescott College, Higher Ground: A Resource Center, La Frontera Behavioral Health, and the city of Tucson.

Mayor Rothschild noted that Pueblo High School graduation rates increased 3% and 84% of the school’s graduates said they would be pursuing post-secondary education, a number that rose 11% over last year.

“Moving that needle is a big deal, so I want to thank everybody who has participated,” he said.

Beyond the numbers, the vision of a community school keeps the “person” as the guiding star, a concept that Principal Augustine Romero of Pueblo Magnet High School embraces.

“We want to recognize our vision for Pueblo, that it becomes the community’s center of health – not a health center, but a center of health – where it is the healthiest place our students can be,” said  Romero. “I want to thank all those who carry the water to make this happen and that’s our AmeriCorps people, Sabryna Alers (AmeriCorps VISTA), Michelle Valenti (AmeriCorps State Member), and Meg Riley and Ben Olsen (Arizona Serve program staff).”

News coverage raised awareness of the Tucson Community Schools Initiative and increased the potential for community members to become involved, which has been a driving force for the program.

During my first month of service, I took part in an intensive training schedule developed and implemented by my Supervisor Jennifer Little, Success By 6 Manager, and Edna Galvan, Program Coordinator at United Way of Lake County. They are key members of United Way’s family and have been guiding me through the daily work in the organization and my responsibilities as a VISTA team member. These responsibilities include the development and implementation of learning and interactive activities for children and carrying out preplanned activities and curriculum at the classroom. I have also been mentored and trained on how they develop and implements their strategies for Kindergarten Readiness and other Success By 6 initiatives.

As an AmeriCorps VISTA Member I am working to eliminate poverty and the negative effects it has on our community. In my role as a VISTA Member, I support these goals by helping provide high-risk children with the core skills they need to succeed in school. One main highlight for the past two months was the Kindergarten Countdown Camp that I helped put together at North Elementary School in Waukegan, where 32 children with little or no preschool experience participated. Almost half of incoming kindergarten students in Waukegan School District do not attend a formal preschool program. Kindergarten Countdown Camp was led by licensed teachers who worked with the students to get them ready for their transition into kindergarten.

In addition North Elementary served as a Summer Feeding Site.  There were 118 children who received a nutritious breakfast and lunch. The program served breakfast from 8:45 - 9:00 a.m. and lunch from 11:40 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Our next Camp will take place at Lyon Elementary School, starting on August 1st and lasting through August 11; where the site will also serve breakfast.

Working in a community of low income and underserved families can pose many challenges to the educational achievement of our children. Helping children successfully overcome these challenges will help reduce social inequality and create opportunities for our youth. Education is the best tool for empowering our community, and this is how United Way of Lake County's Success By 6 Program is helping eradicate poverty. Our success is measured by the gains these children make in their literacy skills development as well as making sure parents know all of the  health requirements needed in order to start school.

When I packed up my car in 1992 and left my familiar bubble in Arlington, VA to serve a year as a VISTA member in rural North Dakota, I was an adventurous 22-year-old, hitting the road with idealism and a duffel bag. With 3 days of training under my belt, I arrived in town, found a room to rent over the shop-keeper’s house, and settled into my new role at a domestic violence and sexual assault program. I spent the next 12 months recruiting and training volunteers for a battered women’s task force, establishing a safe house network, and setting up a court watch program to monitor how the system responded to victims of abuse. Being able to make a difference in people’s lives was an awakening for me, and I bounded out of bed each morning with excitement and vigor as I headed off to the first job I ever loved. My cultural intelligence also grew as I learned to recruit in church basements, came to understand the difference between a combine and a tractor, and developed a deep appreciation for the richness of Midwestern hospitality. 

Fast forward 25 years and here I sit at my keyboard, pinching myself that my circuitous path has led me to be Acting Director of AmeriCorps VISTA. Having benefited from so many interventions in my own life, from Head Start to scholarships and Pell grants, this feels akin to winning the purpose lottery. I get to support the 8,000 VISTA members who are walking the talk and fighting poverty every day in America.   

The secret sauce of this 52-year-strong anti-poverty program is its multiplying force. Have a dollar? A VISTA member can turn it into two. Running a program with five mentors to help keep kids in school? A VISTA member can recruit and train ten more. VISTA members leveraged $178 million in cash and in-kind resources and mobilized 900,000 local volunteers in 2016 alone. From Anchorage to Orlando and 3,000 sites in between, these anti-poverty warriors are finding the good, multiplying it, and mobilizing the non-federal resources needed to ensure the positive ripples reverberate in communities long after the VISTA member leaves. 

AmeriCorps VISTA Member serving with FIRST

The mission of VISTA hasn’t changed in its 52 years, but the scope of projects has adapted with the times. In addition to bolstering services for homeless veterans and helping low-income youth get in to college, VISTA members today are combating opioid abuse and expanding robotics programs in low-income communities. An example of the latter is the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) AmeriCorps VISTA project, which I’m thrilled to visit today as I serve alongside VISTA member Christina Lee during AmeriCorps Week. Through the FIRST project, VISTA members help inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, and engage underserved communities and school districts to make science and technology accessible to all children. Since 2013, 114 AmeriCorps VISTA members have expanded FIRST programming into 51 cities and 32 states, engaging more than 7,600 children from under-resourced communities in STEM activities. While robotics and Lego competitions may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of anti-poverty work, the FIRST AmeriCorps VISTA project provides children with access to education and technology resources in order to “engineer paths out of poverty.”   

Ana Laura Miranda

In the VISTA's office we call Ana Laura “the VISTA extraordinaire”. “Why?” you ask. Ana Laura has dedicated the last five years of her life to eliminating poverty in America. In her tenure as a VISTA, she has worked at a total of eight sites - five host sites and three sub-sites.

Happy and sadly Project Amistad is her fifth and final site! Happily because her knowledge and understanding of the CNCS and the VISTA program will/has been a tremendous benefit for a first year host site. Sadly, she is a valuable asset that will not be easily replaced.

When asked, why did you join AmeriCorps VISTA? She says, "I realized shortly after relocating in 2009 to Missouri that my life was not happy in the business sector. Then I joined the non-profit sector and now I am happy. YAY!!"

Ana Laura's Service

2010 – 11: Waynesville R-VI school District, Waynesville, MO

2011 – 13: United Way of El Paso County, El Paso, TX - YWCA & Latinitas – empowering young women ages 12 years old - 17 years old achieve personal and academic success through technology, media skills such as interviews, blogs, photography, podcasts, etc. Allowing them to build their self-esteem and Confidence by building a skill that will grow once they graduate high school and beyond.

2013: Foundational for Educational Excellence, Denver, CO

2014 – 15: American Lexion Auxiliary National Headquarters, Indianpolis, IN - Operation Homefront – providing emergency financial assistance to active Duty Military E1-E6 and Wounded Warriors with certain financial difficulties e.g. mortgage rent assistance, car repair, PCS relocations, and utility bills.

2015 – 16: Project Amistad, El Paso, TX

Ana Laura's Education/Training

Background in Business Administration / Marketing studied at Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. ITESM campús Cd. Judrez.

Certified by Proliteracy America to tutor, teach, and train volunteers. To teach basic ESL Literacy on September 17th, 2011.