After Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza announced all New York City schools will move to a Remote Learning Model until April, CSNY campus teams at Renaissance School of the Arts and Benjamin Franklin Health Science Academy teamed up with school leaders and teachers on the distribution of computer devices to students and ensuring families are equipped with the necessary knowledge to operate academic sites and gain access to learning materials.
Read MoreIn 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 MoreDespite school closures, Massachusetts Teaching Fellows remain steadfastly committed to service. In between participating in virtual professional development modules, Teaching Fellows are supporting our students, public school teachers, and school communities through a variety of different avenues.
Read MoreIn Catalyst, industry volunteers work side-by-side with middle school science and technology teachers to help students develop work products that demonstrate their understanding of disciplinary knowledge AND crosscutting concepts.
Read MoreJanuary 20, 2020 marked the 25th anniversary of Martin Luther King Day of Service: a day that celebrates Dr. King’s life and legacy of truth to power and inspiring individuals to work for racial justice and social change. This year, Citizen Schools joined forces with UJA Federation of New York and NYC Repair The World. UJA Federation effectively provides resources and urgent relief when an emergency or disaster strikes. Repair the World Harlem strives towards mobilizing volunteering and building partnerships with local organizations to help support the Harlem community.
Read MoreWOW! Week is a celebration of our students’ hard work from their apprenticeships. Over 10 weeks students are transformed into website designers, lawyers, and financial advisers, learning how their current academics apply to a future pathway. During this celebration, communities of family, friends, and volunteers gathered to view our students’ talents and skills through interactive presentations.
Read MoreOn Monday, January 20th, our Teaching Fellows joined the legions of AmeriCorps members honoring Dr. King’s legacy with a National Day of Service. The day, known as “A Day On, Not a Day Off,” is dedicated to improving our communities.
Read MoreCitizen Schools held their 2nd Annual Get CycED fundraiser last month at the B/SPOKE Spin Studio in Boston, MA. Hosted by our Council of Champions, 35 riders came together for a fun-filled, high energy morning of indoor cycling and after party to raise money for Citizen Schools.
Read MoreCitizen Schools Massachusetts concluded the fall semester with three incredible WOW!s showcasing student achievement.
East Somerville Community School enjoyed a “Saturday Morning Cartoons” theme to learn more about game design, finances, and design thinking.
Argenziano showcased Google Apprenticeship with lego robots, Maker Challenge involved families in science experiments, and Beautiful Children tapped into artistic skills with stress balls and face-masks.
Winter Hill celebrated with an 80’s themed WOW! Featuring superheroes, crime-scene investigators and, dancers.
This 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 MoreStudents embark on intersession activities every semester before apprenticeships begin, where they are given the opportunity to explore new passions or hone important skill sets with their classmates. This consists of activities ranging from developing ideas for a new phone application to playing math games and mastering proficiency levels in different subjects.
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 MoreIn one of Pauline’s earliest Carbon Footprint apprenticeships a few years ago, a “teeny tiny” 7th grader named Evias caught her eye. In the beginning, he was more on the quiet side but otherwise totally engaged, and by the end of the apprenticeship, he was participating more and answering tough questions with ease. Evias had improved so much and did so well that Pauline selected him to be the class ambassador for the WOW! presentation at the end of the semester.
Read MoreBob France taught his first Lego Robotics Apprenticeship with Citizen Schools in 2013, then went on to develop a 3D Printing class, and later led a Girls’ Backpacking trip. It’s become a family affair, where his son participated in facilitating the 3D Printing class and his wife, Dianne, partnered with him on the backpacking trip. What do all of these have in common? It’s about building skills and ultimately, confidence for life and career. Bob said, “Years from now kids may not remember the specifics of what they learned but I hope they will always have that confidence. Confidence is actually a job skill!”
Read MoreWhen Sue Freeman was in middle school, she loved math and according to her, that was definitely “weird”. But in recent years, she has seen many more students name it and science as their favorite subjects. Students in her classes don’t just want to be basketball players or dancers, but also mechanical or industrial engineers that design cars or invent robots. This was why Sue’s robotics apprenticeships were so popular with students--building and programming robots got even the rowdiest kids focused and engaged in scientific concepts.
Read MoreChuck taught several Citizen Schools apprenticeships including Generation Citizen, Talk Like a Pro, Shark Tank and creative writing. He comes back year after year because he’s always “blown away” during the WOW!, where students showcase their projects to volunteers, teachers, family and fellow students. Oftentimes, he finds “those that you least expect, shine the most.”
Read More“Do you know what dubstep is Joanne? We want to do a dance to dubstep” said Jeremiah, one of my 6th grade students in my video production apprenticeship called VidLab at Orchard Gardens, a K-8 school in Roxbury, MA. Having been in college when Skrillex was at the height of his dubstep career, I was certainly familiar with the bass-heavy electronic dance music genre, but couldn’t believe this tiny 10-year old not only knew what it was but enjoyed it!
Read MoreWhen you first meet Sonali, you might be surprised that at only 17 years old, she’s already volunteered for several Citizen Schools Game Coding apprenticeships and started her own “chapter” of volunteers at Saratoga High School. Sonali has a love for Computer Science and wanted to find ways to give back to the larger community. In her research, she found Citizen Schools, which gave her an outlet for sharing her passion for coding, working with middle-school students of diverse backgrounds, and partnering with passionate STEM professionals to student teach classes.
Read MoreGiovanni Green has taught 12 Apprenticeships across Renaissance Academy, Urban Assembly, and Isaac Newton Middle School, finally reaching the “cool” factor that makes students stop to talk to him in the hallways—even if they’re not one of his students. It’s no wonder his Backstage Pass Apprenticeship is one of the most popular. Students write the lyrics, lay down the beats, finish an original song, and get to visit a real music studio.
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.
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