Citizen Schools
Encyclopedia
Citizen Schools is an American
non-profit organization
that partners with middle school
s across the United States to expand the learning day for low-income children. Its stated mission is "educating children and strengthening communities". Currently, Citizen Schools serves over 4,400 students and recruits over 4,000 volunteers over 37 program sites in 19 cities across 7 states. The center pieces of the Citizen Schools model are its apprenticeship programs run by volunteers that culminate in public demonstrations called WOW!s, and partnering with some middle schools to expand learning time for students. Citizen Schools offers the AmeriCorps National Teaching Fellowship providing a 2-year leadership development program with a optional enrollment in a Master's program in out-of-school learning.
. Concerned with the rise of youth crime, struggling neighborhoods, and challenges within public schools in Boston
, Eric and Ned sought to educate middle school age children through hands-on apprenticeships in real-world fields. In 1994, they volunteered to teach apprenticeships based on their professional knowledge to 20 students at Dorchester's Paul A. Dever Elementary School. As a former reporter, Eric led an apprenticeship in journalism while Ned taught first aid after having run the EMT squad at the University of Vermont. In early 1995, Citizen Schools formally registered as a non-profit organization. The first full program was launched that summer, serving 63 children.
Within a year, the basic elements were in place: after-school programs operating out of Boston public school buildings, apprenticeships taught by community volunteers, explorations into the community, focused time to develop academic skills, and team building activities to develop social skills. Citizen Schools grew initially in Boston, wanting to prove the model in Boston to establish itself as a leader in quality programming before expanding geographically. “To have impact on a huge scale, you do not necessarily need to have the dominant market share,” says Schwarz. "We need to remain a big fish in Boston, and we can then leverage those resources, ideas, and our model to other educational entrepreneurs [beyond Boston]." In fall of 2001, the organization started its 8th Grade Academy in Boston to support Citizen Schools participants in preparing to transition to high school and college. The organization grew significantly in 2002, opening affiliate sites outside of Boston in Framingham
and Worcester
, as well as in Texas
and California
.
That same year, Citizen Schools began its partnership with AmeriCorps
. In 2003, Lesley University
in Cambridge
launched a partnership with Citizen Schools to enable staff to graduate with a Master's in Education with a Specialization in Out of School Time (OST) Education. In 2006, Citizen Schools became the lead non-profit partner at two schools in Massachusetts
that piloted Expanded Learning Time for all their students. From 2006-08, Citizen Schools launched programs at new sites in North Carolina
, New Mexico
, New Jersey
and New York
.
Citizen Schools also operates their own site devoted to apprenticeships, called CT Nation Labeled "The online community for Citizen Schools volunteers", the site provides a workspace for volunteers--Citizen Teachers--and Citizen Schools' staff to discuss current apprenticeships and prospects for future ones. The site also maintains a blog for CTs past and present to reflect on their experiences working with Citizen Schools and students across the country.
, the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate
adopted bills calling for National Expanded Learning Time or ELT. Schools adopting ELT expand the amount of time students spend in school by lengthening the school day and/or year. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
, in partnership with Massachusetts 2020 http://www.mass2020.org/node/108, which aims to "expand and improve learning opportunities for children across" Massachusetts, created an Extended Learning Time pilot program in 2006. Through the ELT initiative, schools agree "to increase learning time for their students by at least 30% in exchange for an increase in their state per-pupil funding". Since 2006, Citizen Schools has partnered with the Edwards Middle School in Charlestown and the Salemwood School in Malden
to extend the school day for all their students. In the fall of 2009, the Garfield Middle School in Revere
also extended their school day in partnership with Citizen Schools.
On all of its ELT campuses, Citizen Schools provides students with daily homework time, volunteer-led apprenticeships, a study skills class, and experiential field trips. At the Edwards Middle School in Charlestown, Citizen Schools staff also facilitate a school-wide initiative to boost math skills through a combination of collaborative math games and time for math homework completion. From 2006 to 2009, math proficiency at the Edwards more than doubled and the school has reduced the achievement gap for 8th graders in math and ELA by more than 50%. A 2008 Boston Globe column called the ELT initiative "a success Massachusetts should be proud of...and a program that deserves to grow".
and with technology corporations like Google
who have made major financial investments in addition to leading a variety of apprenticeships. In 2008, Bank of America committed $1 million to help support Citizen Schools’ national expansion in addition to providing local grants to support programs in Massachusetts, New York and North Carolina. In California, Bank of America recognized Citizen Schools as a Neighborhood Builder and awarded Citizen Schools $200,000 over two years as part of their Neighborhood Excellence Initiative. Since 2006, Google has taught more than 40 apprenticeships at campuses in California, Massachusetts and New York. At the Brooklyn
School for Global Studies, Google programmers provided the first opportunity for middle school students in the United States to work with the Android platform. Google also host WOW! Events and Citizen Schools fundraisers at their corporate offices in Mountain View, California
and New York City and provides a Citizen Schools channel on YouTube
to showcase their work with students.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that partners with middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
s across the United States to expand the learning day for low-income children. Its stated mission is "educating children and strengthening communities". Currently, Citizen Schools serves over 4,400 students and recruits over 4,000 volunteers over 37 program sites in 19 cities across 7 states. The center pieces of the Citizen Schools model are its apprenticeship programs run by volunteers that culminate in public demonstrations called WOW!s, and partnering with some middle schools to expand learning time for students. Citizen Schools offers the AmeriCorps National Teaching Fellowship providing a 2-year leadership development program with a optional enrollment in a Master's program in out-of-school learning.
History
Citizen Schools was founded by Eric Schwarz and Ned Rimer who were college roommates at the University of VermontUniversity of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
. Concerned with the rise of youth crime, struggling neighborhoods, and challenges within public schools in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Eric and Ned sought to educate middle school age children through hands-on apprenticeships in real-world fields. In 1994, they volunteered to teach apprenticeships based on their professional knowledge to 20 students at Dorchester's Paul A. Dever Elementary School. As a former reporter, Eric led an apprenticeship in journalism while Ned taught first aid after having run the EMT squad at the University of Vermont. In early 1995, Citizen Schools formally registered as a non-profit organization. The first full program was launched that summer, serving 63 children.
Within a year, the basic elements were in place: after-school programs operating out of Boston public school buildings, apprenticeships taught by community volunteers, explorations into the community, focused time to develop academic skills, and team building activities to develop social skills. Citizen Schools grew initially in Boston, wanting to prove the model in Boston to establish itself as a leader in quality programming before expanding geographically. “To have impact on a huge scale, you do not necessarily need to have the dominant market share,” says Schwarz. "We need to remain a big fish in Boston, and we can then leverage those resources, ideas, and our model to other educational entrepreneurs [beyond Boston]." In fall of 2001, the organization started its 8th Grade Academy in Boston to support Citizen Schools participants in preparing to transition to high school and college. The organization grew significantly in 2002, opening affiliate sites outside of Boston in Framingham
Framingham, Massachusetts
Framingham is a New England town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 68,318 as of the United States 2010 Census. -History:...
and Worcester
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
, as well as in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
That same year, Citizen Schools began its partnership with AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is a U.S. federal government program that was created under President Bill Clinton by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 and later expanded by 50 percent under President George W. Bush...
. In 2003, Lesley University
Lesley University
Lesley University is a private, coeducational university in Boston, Massachusetts and Cambridge, Massachusetts.The university is a member of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, National Association of Schools of Art and Design, and New England Collegiate Conference.-History:The...
in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
launched a partnership with Citizen Schools to enable staff to graduate with a Master's in Education with a Specialization in Out of School Time (OST) Education. In 2006, Citizen Schools became the lead non-profit partner at two schools in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
that piloted Expanded Learning Time for all their students. From 2006-08, Citizen Schools launched programs at new sites in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Apprenticeships
Citizen Schools recruits volunteers, called Citizen Teachers, from businesses, civic institutions, and communities and trains them to teach elements of their professional or avocational experiences. Taught in 90-minute sessions twice a week for 11-weeks, the apprenticeships emphasize skills considered necessary for success in the modern economy: leadership, teamwork, oral communication and technology. Each semester's apprenticeships culminate in a product, performance, or presentation produced by the students and taught back to the community at an event called a WOW!. Currently, for the spring semester of 2010, Citizen Schools is operating 474 apprenticeships across its 37 sites.Citizen Schools also operates their own site devoted to apprenticeships, called CT Nation Labeled "The online community for Citizen Schools volunteers", the site provides a workspace for volunteers--Citizen Teachers--and Citizen Schools' staff to discuss current apprenticeships and prospects for future ones. The site also maintains a blog for CTs past and present to reflect on their experiences working with Citizen Schools and students across the country.
Extended Learning Time (ELT)
In the 110th and 111th CongressesUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
adopted bills calling for National Expanded Learning Time or ELT. Schools adopting ELT expand the amount of time students spend in school by lengthening the school day and/or year. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, in partnership with Massachusetts 2020 http://www.mass2020.org/node/108, which aims to "expand and improve learning opportunities for children across" Massachusetts, created an Extended Learning Time pilot program in 2006. Through the ELT initiative, schools agree "to increase learning time for their students by at least 30% in exchange for an increase in their state per-pupil funding". Since 2006, Citizen Schools has partnered with the Edwards Middle School in Charlestown and the Salemwood School in Malden
Malden, Massachusetts
Malden is a suburban city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 59,450 at the 2010 census. In 2009 Malden was ranked as the "Best Place to Raise Your Kids" in Massachusetts by Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine.-History:...
to extend the school day for all their students. In the fall of 2009, the Garfield Middle School in Revere
Revere, Massachusetts
Revere is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and located approximately from downtown Boston. It is named after the American patriot Paul Revere. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 51,755.- History :...
also extended their school day in partnership with Citizen Schools.
On all of its ELT campuses, Citizen Schools provides students with daily homework time, volunteer-led apprenticeships, a study skills class, and experiential field trips. At the Edwards Middle School in Charlestown, Citizen Schools staff also facilitate a school-wide initiative to boost math skills through a combination of collaborative math games and time for math homework completion. From 2006 to 2009, math proficiency at the Edwards more than doubled and the school has reduced the achievement gap for 8th graders in math and ELA by more than 50%. A 2008 Boston Globe column called the ELT initiative "a success Massachusetts should be proud of...and a program that deserves to grow".
Partnerships
Citizen Schools has recently partnered with financial institutions such as Bank of AmericaBank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
and with technology corporations like Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
who have made major financial investments in addition to leading a variety of apprenticeships. In 2008, Bank of America committed $1 million to help support Citizen Schools’ national expansion in addition to providing local grants to support programs in Massachusetts, New York and North Carolina. In California, Bank of America recognized Citizen Schools as a Neighborhood Builder and awarded Citizen Schools $200,000 over two years as part of their Neighborhood Excellence Initiative. Since 2006, Google has taught more than 40 apprenticeships at campuses in California, Massachusetts and New York. At the Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
School for Global Studies, Google programmers provided the first opportunity for middle school students in the United States to work with the Android platform. Google also host WOW! Events and Citizen Schools fundraisers at their corporate offices in Mountain View, California
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
and New York City and provides a Citizen Schools channel on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
to showcase their work with students.