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Across the hundreds of ������Ƶ served by City Year, there are thousands of moments, both big and small, that show how students are growing, connecting with their classmates and trusted adults in the schoolhouse, and engaging more deeply with their learning, supported by the additional capacity and care provided by City Year AmeriCorps members.

Here’s one glimpse into a fifth-grade classroom served by City Year Columbus.

In an elementary school in Columbus, Ohio, something remarkable unfolded this year in a fifth-grade English Language Arts classroom. What began as a group of students with wide-ranging abilities—and, in some cases, deep self-doubt—became a community of confident readers, thoughtful writers, and enthusiastic learners. At the heart of that transformation was a new reading curriculum combined with the creativity of City Year Columbus AmeriCorps member Julia Reidy.

A new challenge, a powerful opportunity

Julia entered the school year ready to stretch herself. After serving her first City Year as a student success coach supporting a second-grade math classroom in 2024 ������Ƶ-2025, she stepped into fifth-grade literacy instruction for the 2025-2026 school year—something that initially felt daunting.

Although Julia had majored in English with a concentration in writing and rhetoric from Villanova University, she wasn’t sure how to translate her background into her new role. Over the year, Julia would work with small groups of students, helping them to strengthen key literacy skills.

“I wasn’t really sure what teaching ELA looked like,” Julia recalled. “There’s so many different layers… fluency, writing, critical thinking—I didn’t know how I was going to fit all of that into a small window of time.”

But what could have been overwhelming quickly became energizing. Supported by City Year’s holistic student support approach, Whole School, Whole Child®, and strong mentorship from her City Year Impact Manager Imani Miller, Julia found her footing—and her purpose.

“I really valued how much emphasis City Year puts on the whole child… and giving kids the best possible support,” she said.

A framework that created space for creativity and awareness

A key tool in Julia’s work was the , a structured literacy intervention that provides grade-level texts and guided lessons integrating reading, discussion and writing.

Rather than limiting her, Julia found that the structure freed her to focus on students.

“The skeleton is there for you,” she explained. “So, then you can focus on how you’re going to make it engaging… how you’re going to scaffold it… how you’re going to make it something they want to do.”

That freedom allowed her to bring lessons to life in creative, student-centered ways.

In fact, Julia’s work was so successful, Curriculum Associates, the education technology and publishing company that created Magnetic Reading, visited City Year Columbus in May to present Julia with their Emerging Extraordinary Educator award for her innovative work adapting the Magnetic Reading curriculum to meet her students’ needs.

Julia’s impact came from her ability to see beyond surface-level challenges.

One student struggled with reading fluency—something that often overshadowed her abilities in traditional settings. But Julia saw something different.

“She was incredibly proficient in so many other areas,” Julia said. “Her ability to think deeply… and write about what she was thinking was very, very high.”

By slowing down, creating space, and building on strengths, Julia helped that student thrive—eventually earning one of the highest writing scores in the class on a state assessment.

Students’ self-perception changed

At the beginning of the year, many students doubted themselves.

“I had students who spent the whole first half of the year telling me that they weren’t smart… that they don’t know how to read,” Julia shared.

But growth changed everything.

After seeing their progress midyear, students began to reframe their identities.

“They started to say, ‘Oh, I am smart now. I actually am good at reading,’” Julia said.

One moment, in particular, stayed with her:

“One student came in and the whole day he was just saying, ‘You know I’m smart now, right? I’m actually smart now.’”

By spring, students approached reading—and testing—with confidence, not fear.

The transformation didn’t stop at skill-building. It became something deeper.

Students who once resisted reading began to embrace it—eagerly. Together, they read novels like Holes, Bridge to Terabithia, and Wonder.

“They were reading even when they weren’t supposed to be,” Julia said. “They were meeting at the library… reading together after school.”

They annotated texts, debated ideas, and proudly shared insights.

“They’d come in and say, ‘I found something really cool I could cite in the book last night,’” she added.

Students even helped each other—strong readers mentoring peers, sparking a ripple effect of growth. What began as instruction turned into a culture.

Learning that moves and connects

Julia also reimagined what literacy instruction could look like. She combined different elements of her City Year learning and development training into her literacy interventions, particularly .

The Clover Model of youth development is a framework that highlights the four key elements that people need to thrive: active engagement, assertiveness, belonging and reflection.

Active engagement became central to Julia’s approach to working with her students. She built movement, collaboration, and joy into her lessons.

“I wanted to incorporate movement because I like to move and I know the kids like to move,” she said.

Whether students were moving to different corners of the room to answer questions or tossing a tennis ball to signal whose turn it was to speak, the classroom became active and alive.

“It helps them connect better with what they’re doing… and makes it more engaging,” Julia explained.

A ripple effect across the school

Julia’s impact extended far beyond her small groups—and it stood out immediately to her manager, Impact Manager Imani Miller. This is the third year City Year Columbus has used the Magnetic Reading curriculum.

“I feel like I actually learned quite a bit—maybe even more—from Julia this year,” Imani reflected, “than she learned from me.”

She described Julia as both innovative and deeply intentional.

“Her excitement about the curriculum made me excited about the curriculum,” Imani said. “And seeing her doing it in action… I learned so many strategies that could help other Corps members.”

One example stood out: Julia’s ability to transform routine comprehension checks into dynamic, movement-based learning experiences that kept students fully engaged.

For Imani, the difference wasn’t just what Julia did—it was how she did it.

“Julia was really able to zone in on student support in a different way because she was innovative,” Imani said.

“She’s thinking outside of that box… what are things that I can do to help my students succeed?”

But most powerful was the shift in students themselves.

“I’ve never seen students take such an interest in their learning,” Imani shared. “They’re reading in the hallways… meeting after school… I’ve never seen students that excited.”

She summed up Julia’s impact simply:

“She helped them to fall in love with their learning. She helped them build confidence… and she made them excited about it.”

By the end of the year, Julia’s students had made clear gains in reading and writing on state assessments. But their growth went far beyond academics.

“They were all really talented readers,” Julia said. “They felt very comfortable… I think they’re ready to succeed in middle school.”

More importantly, they believed in themselves.

The power of one year of service

Julia Reidy’s story is a powerful reminder of what’s possible when students are seen, supported, and inspired. Through intentional tutoring, mentoring, creativity, and care, she didn’t just help students improve their literacy skills—she changed how they saw themselves as learners.

And in doing so, she created something lasting:

A classroom where students didn’t just learn to read—they learned to love it.

As for Julia’s plans, she is considering training to become a classroom teacher or possibly a school counselor. Whatever she decides, Julia envisions a future working with students in some capacity.

Learn more about serving with City Year.