In response to recent school closures, CSCA staff are implementing virtual ways to maintain strong relationships with their students as regularly scheduled apprenticeships are now postponed until further notice. As school closures are extended, our staff are preparing to work even more closely with school leaders and teachers to directly support the potential academic slide. We are preparing to return to school ready to support wherever we are needed the most.
Read MoreThis Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday inspired Citizen Schools California campuses to engage in projects that benefited the community. All seven of our campuses participated: West Lake Middle School, Greenleaf Elementary School, McKinley Institute of Technology, Joseph George Middle School, William Sheppard Middle School, Renaissance Academy at Fischer, and Renaissance Academy at Mathson.
Read MoreCitizen Schools California ended a successful Fall semester with WOW! events, a culmination of the 10-week-long apprenticeship program. In apprenticeships, volunteers across different industries teach their passion to students once a week for 1.5 hour sessions. Students spend the semester learning a particular skill set or subject matter, all while working towards developing a final project.
Read MoreBin Wu is a 10-time Citizen Teacher for Citizen Schools California, participating in Tech Challenge and several other Apprenticeships over the last five years. Though her background of growing up in China is quite different from the students she serves or the campuses she’s on, she believes deeply in exposing people to something different.
Read MoreThis month, Citizen Schools students at Joseph George Middle School in San Jose, California created a drug awareness campaign on campus. Staff and students worked with the Leadership Academy, a group of 30 seventh and eighth grade Citizen Schools students responsible for promoting school spirit and bringing attention to school-wide issues.
Read MoreEach semester, Citizen Schools California hosts apprenticeships, 10-week long hands-on projects led by passionate volunteers who teach students topics ranging from cooking to coding. This semester, we are excited to offer Qigong and Taiji as an apprenticeship at Renaissance Academy at Mathson, taught by Citizen Teacher Jerriline Martinez from Cisco, with support from Teaching Fellow Renee Lemieux. Read what Jerriline had to say about her experience as a Citizen Teacher:
Read MoreOn November 5th, community members from across the Bay Area came together to watch our apprenticeships in action at the McKinley Institute of Technology (MIT) site visit in Redwood City, CA. Attendees had the opportunity to meet with the Citizen Schools leadership team and hear from a panel of school partners and volunteer Citizen Teachers. They took a tour of the Tuesday after-school program and sat in on featured apprenticeships such as Fit Kids, Career Horizons, Making Beats, and Lego Robotics.
Read MoreThis past summer, Citizen Schools California kicked off the year with Summer Institute, where rising and returning campus staff came together to prepare for the school year ahead of them. New Teaching Fellows came from all over the country, eager to tackle the opportunity gap that our students face. They learned skills such as lesson planning, classroom management and culturally responsive teaching.
Read MoreOn June 30, a group of new players took to the field at Oracle Park before the San Francisco Giants game against the Arizona Diamondbacks! Thanks to Bank of America’s support, 9 middle school students from Citizen Schools were able to run onto the field and take positions for the Kids Take the Field presentation. Students were even able to meet the players while out on the field, an experience the students said that they would never forget!
Read MoreA team of five intrepid students from Fischer Renaissance participated in a FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Qualifier tournament at Santa Clara High School November 11, 2018 as part of a Citizen School Apprenticeship. Lead by by a team of mentors, and Americorps members James Wesselman (myself) and Jamila Mentuhotep (Citizen Schools Teaching Fellows), the team finished the fun filled day ranking 6th in the robot game outperforming experienced better funded teams.
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