Citizen Schools Celebrates Mass STEM Week

Citizen Schools celebrated Mass STEM Week 2019 with activities leading up to and throughout the week of October 21st. The partnership began as a collaboration with the Lieutenant Governor’s office. With a focus on STEM mentoring and illustrating career pathways, Citizen Schools activities included hands-on science stations, touring STEM companies and bringing more STEM industry professionals into the classroom to see how students can “See Yourself in STEM.” Using the #citizenschools, #SeeYourselfInSTEM and #MassSTEMWeek, Citizen Schools also captured the excitement across social media channels.

"Citizen Schools has been a long-time champion of real-world, hands-on STEM learning, so we were excited to join the state-wide initiative of Massachusetts STEM Week with other strong education partners. We viewed this as an opportunity to celebrate the joy that students get from exploration and discovery, highlighting the pivotal role STEM mentors can play in classrooms and communities."

–Emily McCann, CEO, Citizen Schools

During STEM week, Citizen Schools collaborated with the City of Somerville to host a Lights On Afterschool event on Thursday, October 24th at Winter Hill Community Schools. Lights on Afterschool is a national initiative that draws attention to the many ways after school programs support students, offering them opportunities to learn new things and discover new skills. This interactive city-wide event brought together students, families, district and city officials to send a powerful message about the importance of quality after school programs while highlighting the STEM work being done with Citizen Schools and other organizations in Somerville.

"Mass STEM Week was a great opportunity to showcase how our apprenticeships highlight STEM career possibilities for students. It's amazing to watch the excitement when students are able to work side by side with STEM Mentors to make new discoveries, hear about career paths, all while learning more about themselves, their peers, and the world around them. This is what education is all about!" 

–Vanessa Bishop, Executive Director, Citizen Schools Massachusetts