On March 28th, Citizen Schools students, families, and supporters gathered at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA to celebrate the work of our brilliant students, connect our community with schools in need, and transform the future of public school education.

We celebrated the accomplishments of our apprentices with a gallery of WOW!s, enjoyed delicious food and wine pairings (courtesy of Le Petit Café, Lede Family Wines, and Sidebar Cellars). We heard from a compelling line-up of speakers, including opening remarks from MacCalvin Romain, a Citizen Schools Alumnus who is currently earning his Master’s Degree at the University of Michigan, and an inspiring speech from Mia Salvador, a 6th grader at William Sheppard Middle School in San Jose.

Western Digital was honored as our 2017 partner of the year for their ongoing commitment to our students. In addition to contributing more than $200,000 to Citizen Schools’ programs across the Bay Area and nationally, Western Digital’s employees are among Citizen Schools’ largest contingent of volunteers with nearly 60 Western Digital Citizen Teachers. Since partnering with Citizen Schools in 2013, over 1,000 students have benefited from Western Digital Citizen Teachers in nearly 50 different apprenticeships.

We are thrilled to announce that benefitEd 2017 raised more than $100,000 in support of transformative learning opportunities for low-income students in public schools across the Bay Area.

Missed it? Relive the memories with us by checking out this gallery of photos from the event!