Model
The Expanded Learning Day
- Citizen Schools runs for three hours in the afternoon, Monday-Thursday
- Programming runs during an expanded school day, usually for the entire sixth grade
- Alternately, Citizen Schools runs as an after-school activity for enrolled students from 6th, 7th and 8th grades
- Program elements:
The Second Shift
Each afternoon, the Citizen Schools team creates a positive learning community in partnership with a middle school. Here’s a look at who makes up the shift:
- Campus Director: the Citizen Schools principal. Oversees Citizen Schools operations at the campus level, including school partnerships and staff management. A full-time college graduate with teaching and/or management experience.
- Teaching Fellows: Citizen Schools teachers. Partner with school staff to support student learning and family engagement, teach academic support curricula, co-teach apprenticeships with Citizen Teachers. AmeriCorps members, recent college graduates, typically enrolled in Master’s program in education.
- Team Leaders: part-time Citizen Schools teachers. Teach academic support curricula, co-teach apprenticeships with Citizen Teachers. College students and graduates interested in education careers
- Citizen Teachers: community volunteers who teach apprenticeship courses.
Citizen Schools brings the most successful education innovations together for public schools and their students.
- TIME The most successful charter and traditional public schools achieving results with low-income students work with students for 30-60% more time than the average school day.
- RELEVANCE Research and best practice has long supported the importance of relevance—knowing what learning is for. The most successful schools and education partners do this with engaging electives and project-based learning.
- TALENT Teach For America, New Leaders for New Schools, NYC Teaching Fellows, Boston Teacher Residency, and The New Teacher Project all infuse school systems with additional talent, including individuals who might never before have considered teaching or leading a school.
- CULTURE Surrounding students with peers who believe they will go to college in an environment where hard work brings success creates an environment where students achieve. Successful reform organizations also use data to drive programmatic improvements.
Student impact
We believe all students can graduate from high school prepared for success in college, that the last best chance to get them on this trajectory to do three things for them in middle school:
- Build skills (academic & 21st Century)
- Provide access (to community members, experiences and future possibilities)
- Inform beliefs (the connection between hard work, education and future success)
Systemic impact
We inspire more kids every year—but no matter how ambitious our growth, Citizen Schools will never serve all kids directly. Our strategy aims to prove what works, and what can be replicated, so that a movement builds to transform education and rethink the learning day for all children.
When all citizens play a role in teaching children, every child will graduate from high school ready to succeed in college and career—and the American Dream will fulfill its promise.
