News Advisory

CONTACT: Kat White, Apprenticeship Coordinator, 650.575.3994, katwhite@citizenschools.org

Kennedy Middle Schoolers Showcase 21st-Century Skills

Bay Area Professionals Teach Design, Finance, Dog Training, and More to Middle School Students After School

Brandi Robertson never really thought she'd be in pictures, but today she is getting ready to audition against dozens of actresses for Adina's Deck, a film being produced by Stanford University to educate kids about cyber-bullying on sites like MySpace and Facebook.  In addition to acting, Brandi and her fellow middle schoolers are working closely with the film's director, Debbie Heimowitz, to research the topic, write a script, and make choices about costumes and makeup.

A few doors down, Tommy Le is learning how to apply for a loan to buy a car.  He's only in 6th grade now, but when Tommy is old enough to drive, he'll already know how to get a job and make a savings plan, select a car and research its resale value, and buy the right auto insurance. 

Ilaisa Kailahi is learning to make a web page that he can view from a mobile phone.  Julio Vargas is learning to sew a backpack.  Danny Mendoza is training his dog, Cassie, to sit, stay, and heel.

It's a typical Wednesday afternoon at Kennedy Middle School.

As we hear stories of California's students falling below the national average in math and language arts, an after-school program in Redwood City is taking an innovative approach to teaching the skills kids will need in the 21st century: tapping the expertise of the area's top professionals. Citizen Schools, which runs after-school education programming at five middle schools in the Bay Area, has recruited volunteers from Bank of America, Stanford University, and more to teach their expertise in a hands-on and practical way.

"Citizen Schools has really taught me a lot, and it's fun," says Danny, an eighth grader.  In addition to training his dog, Danny is working with designers from Jump! Associates in San Mateo to invent products that will improve Kennedy's cafeteria.  "Product design is really cool.  You get to come up with new ideas for big companies.  I didn't know you could get paid to have good ideas!"

Citizen Schools, a national nonprofit education organization, runs low-cost after-school programs that serve more than 300 students at its five campuses in Redwood City, East Palo Alto, and San Jose.  The program includes academic support—60-90 minutes extra homework and skill-building time each day after school—and unique opportunities for students to work side-by-side with adults in fun, hands-on learning projects designed to reinforce academics and impart practical and marketable skills, such as teamwork, oral communication and leadership. The learning projects—which Citizen Schools calls "apprenticeships"—are often taught by volunteers from local businesses, civic institutions and communities. This semester, 13 apprenticeships are being taught at Kennedy.

Brandi, a 6th grader, says she chose the Cyber-Bullying Film Project apprenticeship simply because she "wanted to try something new."  Last December in Citizen Schools, Brandi published a magazine and litigated a mock trial in Redwood City's historic old courthouse.  This month Brandi will be giving a speech about Bratz dolls and body image to a panel of school administrators and community advocates, then presenting her expert casting suggestions to the Adina's Deck crew.

Each apprenticeship culminates in what Citizen Schools calls a "WOW!"—a publicly displayed product, presentation or performance. On May 10th at 5:30 pm, Brandi, Danny, and their fellow apprentices will showcase their dances, speeches, artwork, designs, and more. The public is invited to help celebrate their hard work at Kennedy Middle School's gym.

Early evidence suggests that Citizen Schools programs are getting promising results. A multi-year, independent, matched comparison group study of 1,000 students in Boston Public Schools conducted by Washington, DC-based research firm Policy Studies Associates has found that participants in the program are performing better academically in middle school, enrolling in better high schools, and outperforming their peers in 9th grade math and English grades. Citizen Schools currently serves 3,000 students at 30 campuses in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Texas. Its largest cluster of campuses remains in Boston, where the program was founded in 1995 and where it operates in nearly half of the city's public middle schools.

  Back to In The News