A Year Well Served: Celebrating the CYBA AmeriCorps Cohort of 2026

This June, the City Year Bay Area staff and partners gathered at California's Great America to celebrate our graduating class of AmeriCorps Members (ACMs)—a day filled with laughter, hugs, and a rumored rendition of "Always Be My Baby" by our fearless SVP, Luke Hostetter.

For the past ten months, these young leaders have shown up every single day for students across six partner schools in the Ravenswood City School District and the Alum Rock Union School District: Aptitude Academy, Belle Haven Elementary, Costaño Elementary, Hubbard Media Arts Academy, Los Robles Ronald McNair Academy, and Ryan STEAM Academy. Throughout the year, they celebrated academic wins, encouraged students through difficult moments, built trusting relationships, and reminded young learners that school was a safe and welcoming place to be.

Anyone who has completed a City Year can tell you that the work isn't always easy. Days start early, and students arrive each morning with a wide range of academic and emotional needs. Because each school identifies the type of support that will have the greatest impact, ACMs take on a wide variety of responsibilities—from classroom support and tutoring to attendance initiatives and schoolwide activities.

The work demands a tremendous amount of energy, flexibility, and resilience. ACMs learn to show up with optimism, even when the challenges are real and progress can be difficult to measure. A year of service at City Year asks young adults to grow as leaders while helping students discover their own potential.

And they did exactly that.

From here, some graduates will continue their education. Others will begin careers in education, nonprofit leadership, public service, business, technology, or another year of service. Wherever they go, they'll carry with them the resilience and sense of purpose that define a City Year experience.

We're incredibly proud of each member of the Class of 2026.

We began this year with a simple belief: every student deserves a coach.

Thank you for believing in students and coaching them through the 2025–2026 school year.

Thank you for serving your communities and supporting service projects and fundraising efforts beyond your daily work in schools.

Thank you for choosing to spend a year making a difference.

Congratulations on an extraordinary accomplishment. You have made a lasting impact on thousands of young people, and we can't wait to see where your journey takes you next.

View the Graduation Gallery

Relive some of our favorite moments from graduation by browsing the full photo gallery and watching highlights from the celebration. Congratulations, graduates. We now welcome you to the robust national network of City Year Alumni!