Apprenticeships
Go National
Hands-On Learning in Many Places at Once

Citizen Schools started with a big idea: getting citizens involved in education by sharing what they're passionate about with young people. As Citizen Schools expands, so does its signature program. Now, thanks to national corporate partners, groups of volunteers coast to coast can share their best ways of teaching and building communities.  

Apprenticeships -- hands-on, skill-building projects taught by adult volunteers after school -- use engaging curricula designed to make the expertise of the volunteer Citizen Teacher come alive. With an ambitious growth strategy, Citizen Schools doesn't want this creative thinking to be short-lived. That's why curricula are now tested and certified, and students nationwide can connect with their peers and their predecessors, from the first lesson to the culminating project.

To become a part of the nationwide movement to share what you know and love with young people after school, click here.

Citizen Schools students in California and Massachusetts, for example, enrolled in the same apprenticeship, called "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Experts from Fidelity Investments volunteered to make them into financial advisers. Like all apprenticeships, this one was built around a WOW!, a real-world demonstration of the new skills that gave value back to the community. In this case, students advised three "clients," usually family members and Fidelity volunteers, about how to buy a car or save for a vacation.  

Citizen Schools Volunteer Manager Kelly Dwyer says the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" curriculum was effective because it grew from a strong collaboration with Fidelity.   Fidelity volunteers conceived of the idea in Boston.   After the premiere apprenticeship satisfied both students and Citizen Teachers, Citizen Schools staff met with the volunteers to find ways to make it even stronger. They led it a second time in Boston, once more with positive results.   Thanks to Citizen Schools national scale, it could then be distributed to Fidelity volunteers in other Citizen Schools cities.  

This spring, Boston Teaching Fellow Zeb Zankel focused on creating a WOW! that would share student learning across the country. The first national WOW!, "Kids Online," showcased the websites and digital media work students created during four technology apprenticeships from three different Citizen Schools cities: Boston, Massachusetts; New Brunswick, New Jersey; and Springfield, Massachusetts. Students felt special pride that they could present their accomplishments to diverse, caring audiences.

Citizen Schools plans to widen the scope of the WOW! showcases in the coming years to bring similar apprenticeships from different schools and cities together for large-scale celebrations. In addition to "Kids Online," look out for national WOW!s called "Kids Design," "Kids Invest," and "Kids Report."   Says Zeb, "We plan to use videoconference facilities to heighten the level of interaction between the different sites." Citizen Schools may be a national network, but our community is still tight-knit.   

To celebrate Citizen Schools students' achievements with the rest of the country, click here.

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