Citizen Schools Celebrates Its Founding Campus
Students, School, Volunteers, Staff Reflect on 12 Years of Educating Together

In the fall of 1994, Eric Schwarz walked down the street from his Boston home to the Paul A. Dever Elementary School to pitch an idea that would ultimately change the lives of thousands of students.   Eric asked then-Principal Nydia Mendez if he could volunteer to teach kids about his personal interest—journalism—once a week during the school day.   She said yes. Eric taught the students how to choose stories, ask questions, and write articles.   At the end of the class, students published a newspaper called The Dever Community News.   Little did those students know that they were part of the very first Citizen Schools apprenticeship.  

Citizen Schools began operating as a summer and after-school program at the Dever in 1995, and the program connected students and transformed the community for the next 11 years.   Over time, the program grew from one class at the Dever Elementary School to a national after-school program serving 30 schools and 2,000 students nationwide.   Citizen Schools will not return to the Dever in fall 2006 so that the program can better focus on its target audience of middle school students, but we salute the inspiring contributions of all the students, teachers, principals and staff.  

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Dever Principal Guadalupe Guerrero appreciates the skills Citizen Schools can build as an after-school program.   Kids “are learning to express themselves, learning to think critically about a topic and present their understanding in front of an audience.”   Citizen Schools “hits these goals sometimes more than we are able to do during the school day,” he said.  

At the same time, the program linked powerfully with the school day. “There wasn't a sense that we were just the after-school program,” says Marne Day, who served as Campus Director at the Dever in 2006 and an educator on site before that. “It was understood and felt throughout the school that we were a resource to teachers in all of the grades and kids throughout the building whether they were in our program or not.”  

The students thought Citizen Schools was a great way to spend their free time and see their city.   “I like the field trips,” said rising fifth grader Amos.   “I especially liked going to the Aquarium, and to Emerson College, because there was a lot of fun stuff there and a lot I had never seen before in a college.”

Luckily for Amos and the other students at the Dever, Citizen Schools also runs a successful program next-door at the McCormack Middle School.   The fifth grade students and families will still be a part of Citizen Schools' community, pursuing hands-on learning with caring adults. Everyone across the country participating in this movement, though, owes gratitude to the Dever for leading the way.  

To volunteer to share what you're passionate about with students at the McCormack Middle School, or a Citizen Schools campus near you, click here.

Next Steps for the Dever Staff

Though the staff of the “first ever” is sad to be leaving, they are taking the expertise they developed during their tenure at the Dever to new places.   The paths they have chosen will offer new challenges and opportunities, yet represent only a fraction of the great things Citizen Schools staff goes on to do.   Ninety percent of our employees continue working in the field of education after working for Citizen Schools.  

These four leaders, like many before them, will be positively influencing the lives of youth for years to come. Teaching Fellow Jimmy Wyman will be working for Sociedad Latina, the oldest Latino Organization in Boston, where he will serve as the after-school Academics and Enrichment Coordinator for middle school students.    As a Policy Coordinator for The After-School Corporation in New York City, Teaching Fellow Linda Baird will be promoting after-school at the legislative level and building alliances across the East Coast and Midwest.   ReadBoston will employ Teaching Fellow Maria Villareal as a Literacy Advisor, where she will teach students to love and appreciate books while helping after-school programs build their libraries.   Campus Director Marne Day is staying with Citizen Schools, but will move to California where she will serve as the founding campus director at the 49ers Academy, a new site in the Bay Area.

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CITIZEN SCHOOLS
308 CONGRESS STREET
BOSTON, MA 02210
TEL 617.695.2300      FAX 617.695.2367
[ www.citizenschools.org ]