Citizen Schools Makers + Mentors Network celebrated the inaugural Maker Fellow class with an end of the year Maker Fellow Showcase on July 20–22, 2021. Maker Fellows presented 24 unique programs developed during the service year to the greater Maker community and public. Despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, the pivot to virtual and hybrid learning environments, and surges of racial violence and injustice, the Maker Fellows enhanced capacity and created innovative resources for their host sites. The three-day event was interactive and engaging for all. 

3 Days, 24 Unique Maker-Centered Learning Programs

Each day, different Maker Fellows presented their year-long projects virtually. The theme on Tuesday, July 20 was Building Community and Collaboration. Maker Fellows who presented on Tuesday have been engaging local partners and developing programs and initiatives to engage the broader community in supporting maker-centered learning. Fellows emphasized how community participation is essential to creating maker learning experiences for students that are truly meaningful, culturally relevant, and sustainable.

The Wednesday, July 21 session, Innovative Approaches to Maker-Centered Learning, featured Maker Fellows who have been innovating around maker-centered learning in the face of unexpected challenges and constraints of the past year. Fellows shared the challenges, solutions, and insights they gained through these experiences.

On Thursday, July 22 the theme was Creating Spaces, Tools, And Technology. Maker Fellows explored taking a student-centered approach to creating spaces and tools and leveraging technology to do this. Maker Fellows emphasized developing inclusive and inspiring environments for all students to be able to engage in making. This can be challenging but is so important as we strive for equity in maker-centered learning.

The Citizen School Americorps VISTA Maker Fellows Program

Makers + Mentors Network, a STEM initiative of Citizen Schools, partners with communities and organizations to uplift STEM mentoring and maker-centered learning as essential tools to build a stronger, more diverse workforce. Recognizing that, unlike talent, opportunity and access are not equally distributed, the network focuses on underserved and underrepresented students, including girls, students of color, and youth from low-income communities.

Makers + Mentors Network advances its mission through three primary models:

• A National Community of Practice

• Make For All

• Maker Fellows

The Fellows program is designed to connect K-12 students to maker-centered learning opportunities that help students build the academic and social-emotional skills key to their success in school, postsecondary enrollment, and workforce placement. Maker Fellows, through service in their local communities and participation in targeted professional development, become life-long leaders and champions of maker-centered learning and mentorship for under-served students. 

Fellows work in direct service and capacity-building roles, such as developing and implementing new maker-centered learning programming, partnering with school districts to redesign high school CTE pathways, and standing up local communities of practice for faculty and educators. 

The program has the following goals:

• Maker-Centered Learning for All: Expand high-quality and sustainable maker-centered learning experiences for underrepresented and underserved students.

• Community Colleges as CTE Hubs: Help community colleges accelerate and reinforce their roles as catalysts and conduits for CTE in the K-12 and postsecondary space. 

• Position Making as Core to CTE Pathway Design: Build local ecosystems that place maker-centered learning at the center of the CTE pathway design and ensure alignment between student competencies/technical skills and employer needs. 

• Career and Leadership Development for Fellows: Develop a best-in-class experience for AmeriCorps Service members that positions Maker Fellows to serve as life-long leaders and champions of maker-centered learning and mentorship within their communities. 

• Replicable Model for National Service: Establish a scalable and replicable model for how national service can be leveraged to expand capacity and collaboratively address social challenges within communities. 

In Celebration Of Making And Maker Fellows 

The Showcase owed much of its success to interaction and engagement. Maker Fellows first pitched each breakout session in a two-minute lightning round. The goal of the pitch session was to excite audience members and entice them to attend their breakout session. The second part of the Showcase featured two Maker Fellows hosting a thirty-five-minute breakout session. The sessions spotlighted discussions, hands-on learning sessions, and demonstrations. Audience members had the opportunity to directly interact with the Maker Fellows and their projects. One audience member, Carlos Rodriguez of BEST, remarked,

“I was inspired by the depth and diversity of each Fellow's experience—from helping to build community-based maker spaces to deepening engagement through art to supporting curriculum and all adapted to a COVID landscape. The presentations were engaging, exciting and the community was full of positivity and support.”

Thank You To Our Inaugural Maker Fellow Class And The 2021–22 Cohort

The Makers + Mentors team, Citizen Schools, and our participants would like to thank the Citizen Schools AmeriCorps VISTA 2020–21 Maker Fellow cohort. The dedication and professionalism exhibited by the cohort firmly established the efficacy of education leadership at the grassroots level. Citizen Schools and our partner institutions are beneficiaries of the incredible work performed by the inaugural Maker Fellow class. Next year, the Makers + Mentors Network will expand the Maker Fellow program to thirty-two Maker Fellows with ten new host sites. The groundwork for this scaling lies firmly in the commitment to expanding maker-centered learning to all students by Maker Fellows host sites, the hard work of the Maker Fellows and Makers + Mentors Network’s program models.

We are continuing to actively recruit for our next cohort of Maker Fellows for 2021–2022! For more details on these current openings and host sites, please visit: makersandmentors.org/makerfellowscareers

If you are interested in learning more about the Maker Fellowship program, or becoming a host site, please visit our website at makersandmentors.org/makerfellows.