Thanks to you and all of our amazing supporters who voted for us, Citizen Schools was awarded the People's Choice Award in Ashoka Changemakers' Partnering for Excellence: Innovations in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Education. The competition was a national contest for innovative approaches to creating STEM-rich classrooms, connecting students to STEM professionals and inspiring students to aspire to exciting STEM professions. The public voted Citizen Schools as the People’s Choice winner from ten finalists. Citizen Schools will receive $20,000, sponsored by Carnegie Corporation, Opportunity Equation, and Noyce Foundation. There were 9 winners announced. Each identified creative ways to bring STEM professionals into schools to use their talent, knowledge, and real-world skills to engage students, particularly in our high-need communities, in rich STEM learning in partnership with teachers and schools.

The competition was funded and organized by Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Opportunity Equation, and Ashoka Changemakers^® , who were motivated to act by the disparity between the USA's strong STEM career field and STEM teacher shortages, along with struggling STEM learning outcomes in schools.  The  organizers designed the Partnering for Excellence competition to promote and elevate partnerships between STEM professionals and schools to teach STEM content and skills in ways that are meaningful for students, meaningful for adults, and sustainable for employers.While there has been a proliferation of for-profit companies running contests like this with the aim of cultivating email lists, it was clear to Citizen Schools and our supporters that this contest was about finding good ideas and promoting them.

Citizen Schools would not have won this award without the action of our many supporters - who ranged from the President of a large University to a Mayor from Brazil, from a Political Advisor in DC to a Vascular Surgeon, from an Urban Landscaper in NYC to the Chairman of a Software Company and many more. The wide array of people who support our work is a humbling reflection on the amount of lives our mission reaches. We thank you for your continued support and action!