Bank of America

“When you invest in education, you equalize the playing field.”

In Charlotte, N.C., the community is coming together to address education in a powerful way thanks to investments from companies like Bank of America. Take a look at this video that highlights Citizen Schools and a group of partners that we are working with to ensure that all of Charlotte’s children get the education they deserve.

“It’s up to the adults in the community to make sure that every child gets the same quality education.” – Denise Watts, Executive Director, Project L.I.F.T.

“We are focusing on trying to close the gaps that people have in education.” – Charles Bowman, N.C. Market President, Bank of America

“Middle School is important because that’s where we lose a lot of kids.” – Tonya Horton, Executive Director, Citizen Schools North Carolina

“They (students) have got to know what to reach for.” – Alison Harris, Principal, Ranson Middle School

“By being exposed to a variety of career opportunities and people, they (students) begin to know and discover who they really are.” – Melissa Dunlap, Principal, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School

Corporate Employees Stepping Up to Teach

This spring, over 1,500 volunteer Citizen Teachers are teaching nearly 500 apprenticeships across the country. About 60 percent of those apprenticeships are being taught by volunteers from partner organizations and almost 300 Citizen Teachers come from ten companies: Google, Cisco, Fidelity, Cognizant, Bank of America, EMC, AOL, Facebook, Microsoft, and Hewlett Packard.

These corporate volunteers are teaching our students about electrical engineering, investing, creating and marketing products, the science in baking, documentary filmmaking, LED technology, and so much more.

In New York, 230 sixth grade students from East Harlem and the Bronx visit the Google NY headquarters each week. Google is offering a wide range of exciting apprenticeships this semester including “Gourmet Google,” which looks at the cultural, biological, and economic aspects of food.

In North Carolina, Cisco employees are leading the “Brand You/Networking 101” apprenticeship, which teaches students about key marketing and business concepts. Cisco is also offering a math focused apprenticeship, “Building Blocks with Math,” which focuses on the fundamentals of math and design through the creation of 2D and 3D scalable models.

These are just a few examples of the tremendous learning opportunities our students are exposed to thanks to the support of our partners and Citizen Teachers. Learn more about how your company can get involved.

Fidelity Hosts 6 Degrees New Mexico

Last Friday, December the 2nd, at Fidelity Investments in Albuquerque, about 30 students from both Van Buren Middle School in Albuquerque, and De Vargas Middle School in Santa Fe, New Mexico met with 30 volunteers from Fidelity Investments (15),  local law firms (and law students), local non-profits, a veterinarian clinic, Bank of America and the Pope Joy Hall Performance Center at the University of New Mexico.

Students and volunteers participated in Speed Networking, each student/volunteer spent 4 minutes conversing before the students rotated to a new volunteer. At the end the students put their business cards in a fish bowl drawing where three students won prizes donated by Fidelity. There was a 20 minute free mingle time to finish the event where students could talk further to someone they already met or introduce themselves to someone they did not get an opportunity to meet during the speed networking portion.

 

Volunteer Ben Lewinger from Albuquerque Reads and the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce had this to say about the event,

“The Citizen Schools 6 Degrees event was a great opportunity for students to ask uninhibited questions about various educational and career paths, and a great opportunity for volunteers to share what they do and where they’ve been…and witness the excitement and maturity of some of New Mexico’s up-and-comers.  Both groups learned a lot from each other and about themselves.”

Leean Kravitz, the Director of Public Affairs at Fidelity concluded that,

“Participating in an event like 6 Degrees really brings home the impact of what Citizen Schools does to help students see their potential and plan for their future”. 

 

The President’s Volunteer Service Award

Volunteering over 90,000 hours in middle schools teaching robotics, rocket science, web design, finance, and more, these modern heroes we call Citizen Teachers have gone above and beyond their call of duty. Created in 2003, the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation was established to recognize the valuable contributions volunteers are making in our communities. The Council created the President’s Volunteer Service Award program as a way to thank and honor Americans who, by their demonstrated commitment and example, inspire others to engage in volunteer service.

California Citizen Teacher Gerard Berthet from Cisco will teach his fourth Robotics apprenticeship this fall.

Congratulations to our beloved Citizen Teachers who have been recognized for their commitment to service and influencing the lives of students across the country. Many thanks to the national support and partnership we’ve received from Bank of America, Fidelity, Cognizant, and Google, in addition to over 100 organizations that provided volunteers to teach apprenticeships.

Thank you for your help in transforming education, one student at a time.

Boston Business Journal: Bank of America Donates $1M to Citizen Schools

Bank of America Pledges $50M to 5 Education Nonprofits; 4 Based in Mass.

Boston Business Journal

July 18, 2011

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation announced that it will donate $50 million to education nonprofits over a three year period, including a $1 million donation to Citizen Schools as part of the initial grantmaking. The investment will go to expanding the school day and a new Bank of America Financial Education Business Entrepreneur apprenticeship that will begin in the fall. Read more here.

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