For over 25 years, Citizen Schools has brought its after school programming, Expanded Learning Time (ELT) to communities across the nation. And 2022 marks the end of that impressive run. With it being the sun-setting year of ELT, we wanted to reflect back upon the many exciting events that happened in the final month of the program, but also take a minute to celebrate the communities we’ve partnered with and all of the Teaching Fellows, teachers, facilitators and more who have been involved. 

Hear from Winter Hill Community Innovation School Site Director, Ariana Eggleston, on how the final WOW events went and how she’s inspired by the community in Somerville, MA.

WOWs were back IN-PERSON this year! What part brought the most excitement to the actual event for the Teaching Fellows, the students and you?

The Teaching Fellows were most excited about the student-led aspect of the event. All decorations, themes, tri-folds, and presentations were made completely by the students (with the support of the Teaching Fellows). The students were most excited about the WOW! theme and decorating (they chose a gaming theme). For me, I was most excited about pulling together the community and highlighting what the students have been working on not just in apprenticeships, but all year, in everything they did. 

What were you most proud of this school year and how did it show up at the WOWs!?

I was most proud of the relationship-building and community building done by the team and the students. After a tumultuous year for both the team and the school community, it was incredible to see the TFs and Teaching Assistants (TAs) who were not educators, but extremely important mentors and a source of emotional support for our students, show up and be excited alongside the students. 

What apprenticeships really hit home with the students? Where did you see those light bulbs go off for them?

The students at Winter Hill particularly enjoyed the Capital One Coders apprenticeship. With a lot of co-planning led by Citizen Teachers Chad and Patrick, and ample mentor support (Capital One even pulled in a mentor who spoke Mandarin to assist with a language barrier!), the kids really enjoyed finishing up their websites and showcasing them at the WOW.

What did you learn about the Somerville community this year and how they advocate for their students?

Somerville is a very tight-knit, diverse community, welcoming newcomers all the time. Our school had an influx of new students this year, who were welcomed by peers, staff, and the community overall. Eighth Grade Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Science teacher, Tara Murphy-Beardsley, stated about one of our TAs:

“Celine [and the other TAs] have been a wonderful addition to my smart but energetic class. She is a quiet but strong presence in my class. The TAs have been amazing and fit right in. Their multilingual abilities, paired with their ability to connect with middle school students have made my job much easier!” 

After school coordinators, Jen Miller and Lindsey Weaver, played a very important role in providing our program a space in the building and bridging connections between us and the daytime staff. Special shoutout to Nancy McWeeny, MaryLou Sturniolo, and Karla Cabrera for their support on the administrative side as well! 

What did you personally love about putting together this showcase? 

Once students had picked out a theme, I personally loved pulling together the small pieces for the decoration scheme. I really wanted to support the students in making this event their own. On the day of the event, the students spent two hours rearranging, decorating, making a photo booth (with props!), and were super excited to usher guests into the cafeteria to showcase their work. On the day of the WOW!, it was difficult to keep students at their presentation tables because they wanted to show everyone every aspect of the event that they had a hand in, not just the apprenticeship presentations.

The end-of-year celebrations for ELT did not just include the WOW! events. On June 24th, the ELT team came together to celebrate the sunsetting of the program and the amazing year they had in-person. The event featured an award ceremony honoring our current Teaching Fellows and Teaching Associates, words from Citizen Schools co-founder and current Board Member Eric Schwarz, plus lots of music, fun and a celebration of our great community! 

Held at Democracy Brewing in Boston, the event also featured the Classic Photo Booth from Spike Events. Guests truly enjoyed the opportunity to snap photos together and cherish the celebration. Thank you to Spike Events for making this possible!