At Citizen Schools we've seen the impact of citizen power-- when community members join together to make a real difference. Whether through our AmeriCorps Teaching Fellowship or our Citizen Teacher volunteer program, some of America's smartest, most dedicated people have helped students discover new dreams and shown them how to make them come true. In that same spirit, we are proud to celebrate the launch of Extreme By Design-- an upcoming PBS documentary film that follows three Stanford University students as they design and build products to meet basic needs of the world’s poor.

Like our Teaching Fellows and volunteers, these students are using what they know to help communities thrive. By applying the Design Thinking process, the student teams use engineering and design principles, as well their creativity and passion to come up with truly innovative solutions.

The Citizen Schools students of California have also put the process of Design Thinking to the test. Thanks to Ralph King, producer of the documentary, middle school students in the Bay Area are harnessing their natural curiosity and creativity, and solving problems by taking risks and learning from their mistakes; skills they'll use throughout their education and beyond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjoB-IXZ8J4

The film will air on December 11, 2013 at 10 p.m. on PBS nationwide (check local listings). Leading up to the premier, several screenings and workshops will be held  in some of the communities where we serve students- Chicago, New York City and Boston. Don't miss the chance to connect with education and business leaders, while watching this inspiring story and experiencing design thinking for yourself.

Chicago:

November 7, 2013 6:30 p.m.

• Host: University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health
• Location: University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), School of Public Health, 1603 W. Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60612
• Registration: Free admission, no registration required

November 8, 2013 4:00 p.m.

• Host: Northwestern- Kellog- Evanston
• Location: Jacobs Room 1246, Kellog School of Management, Northwestern University
• Registration: Click here to sign up

New York:

November 12, 2013 6:00 p.m.

• Host: Bronx Academy for Software Engineering
• Location: BASE 2474 Crotona Ave, Bronx NY 10458
• Registration: Free admission, no registration required

November 13, 2013 7:30 p.m.

• Host:
• Location:
• Registration: Click here to sign up.

Boston:

November 14, 2013 6:30 p.m.

• Host: Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
• Location: Jefferson Room 250, 17 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Harvard University
• Registration: link to come

Want to participate in one of the free Watch+Design workshops?  Email marjorie@extremebydesignmovie.com for a full list and registration information.