Houston Puts Its “Lights On” for Citizen Schools
Kids and Guest Stars Celebrate
After-School Programs
 When Grady Middle School participated in the national “Lights On Afterschool” celebration on October 12, they ended up with not one but three keynote speakers, 250 guests, and enthusiastic kids celebrating the fun and learning of Citizen Schools. Go to article
IN THIS ISSUE

Young Entrepreneurs
Citizen Teacher Shows Kids
How To Save
 “Given there was only one thing I knew anything about—money and investing—I thought about teaching it,” says pension consultant Christine Loughlin. Her young apprentices have now started their own business, saved money, and invested in the stock market — all before the age of twelve. Go to article

Learning from the Experts
A Company And A School Connect
One of the world's leading financial services firms has gotten into the business of education. Fidelity Investments' experts are becoming Citizen Teachers, volunteering one afternoon each week to share their expertise with middle school students in hands-on apprenticeships. Now, they're sponsoring a middle school, demonstrating how Citizen Schools help businesses and communities connect deeply. Go to article

“Our employees always feel good when they can share something they’re passionate about with the community, and especially with kids. Citizen Schools provides such a great construct for that.”

Dennis Duquette, Vice President of Community Relations, Fidelity Investements

Giving Education
A “New Direction”
Journal Stresses Real-World Learning
A new book draws together the education and business sectors to examine the importance of 21st century skills and the role of programs like Citizen Schools in instilling them. Contributors include writers from Dell and Microsoft, Citizen Schools CEO Eric Schwarz—and Leide Cabral, a college freshman and Citizen Schools alumna. Go to article

KIDS NEED CONNECTIONS with caring adults and the opportunity to experience hands-on learning. Citizen Schools summons ordinary experts like you who have a passion for what they do—and gives them a chance to share it with young people and transform their futures. We hope you’ll join us in making a real impact on educational outcomes, and support our movement to transform education and bring hands-on, citizen-taught learning into the classroom. Kids from coast to coast will achieve more because of it. Donate online now.

WE LOVE OPENING e-mails from our alumni that have ".edu" at the end of the address. Those three letters tell us that the young people we met in their tough middle school years have absorbed the learning they gained at Citizen Schools, and changed their trajectories.

At Brandeis, Socrates is enjoying the Transitional Year Program, remembering that he never thought he'd go to college before he experienced Citizen Schools. Stephanie's first semester at Bryn Mawr has been thrilling. So has Cliff's at Suffolk, Sharnique's at Smith, and Marlon's at Boston College. Some of Citizen Schools' former apprentices are enjoying tuition-free education, thanks to the Posse Foundation or Jack Kent Cooke; Herman is attending Northeastern with the support of an anonymous patron who saw Herman speak on Citizen Schools' behalf-and pledged him a scholarship, a suit, and a laptop.

These future leaders all trace their turning points to Citizen Schools. Their middle-school apprenticeships brought them the opportunity to learn in a different way during their after-school time. They met caring adults, spent hours on communication and technology skills, and worked on real-world projects that showed them what they could accomplish.

When we open e-mails from the young people whose lives we've touched, we remember that the evidence of Citizen Schools' impact is more than test scores and drop-out rates. (Though evidence is also encouraging.) Those e-mails reinforce the importance of our ambitious growth plan. We know that there are countless young people across the country who can join them in top-tier high schools and colleges-if their communities get more engaged in their education. Our alumni spur us to keep building opportunity for more and more kids, to close the achievement gap, and to nurture a generation of citizens who are primed to succeed in school, in the workforce, and in life.

Ned Rimer & Eric Schwarz
Co-founders, Citizen Schools