As summer’s blaze softens into autumn hues, our city’s children are back in the schoolhouse. For many students in the Boston Public Schools, summer was more productive, inspirational and fun than they expected. This is thanks to citywide work to replace traditional summer school with creative and research-based summer learning, as well as a growing commitment in Boston to ensure all students, regardless of family income, access a wide range of summer activities.
Read MoreStudents will be exposed to hands-on learning that will equip them with the skills, opportunities, and mindset to succeed in the 21st century economy
Read MoreStudents across Somerville are settling into a new school year. Just a few weeks ago they (nervously, excitedly, or even begrudgingly, I’m sure) returned to the classroom. They may or may not know they returned to a district that has been steadily racking up achievements and accolades in recent years. To name a few, on the 2016 MCAS, Somerville was the state-leading urban district for growth, the Brown School earned the prestigious Commendation School Award for outstanding growth, and Somerville High School remained the only Level 1 urban high school, a distinction they’ve held for the past four years. We should all be proud that our schools are on an upward trend. But we shouldn’t be complacent. These successes didn’t happen overnight.
Read MoreWhen I first came to the school and found out that I had to stay in school till 4:45 I didn’t want to, and this was a mandatory thing for all grades that had Citizen Schools. I felt like this was just a waste of my time, but just two weeks in I loved staying after school because we learned a lot about people and their jobs and I learned about the kids in my class. They were all strange unfamiliar faces when I came but during Citizen Schools they became my friends.
Read MoreHave you heard anything about DACA and/or DAPA? DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA is an American immigration policy founded by the Obama administration in June 2012. Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents sometimes called Deferred Action for Parental Accountability, is a planned American immigration policy to grant deferred action status to certain undocumented immigrants. DAPA and DACA give immigrants opportunities such as employment, but there are some downsides to DACA and DAPA that affect many immigrants. DACA and DAPA programs do too little to protect undocumented immigrants while allowing them to legally stay in the US because their rights can be easily taken away and they don’t know if they can get citizenship. But others, like Republicans think that immigrants get too much support because there is too much spent on the immigrants.
Read MorePeople know me as the shy girl, the mute. But I want others to know that I am more than just shy. This is not who I really am, and Citizen Schools knows it’s not who I am. I have always had a fear of public speaking, and my mom always told me that it was just a phase. She, too, was shy and reclusive, but now she's a social butterfly. I hope to become more social like her to some extent. I just don't know where to start. My Citizen Schools writing coach told me that being scared to talk in public is all in my head and it's nothing to be afraid of. I use that advice everyday to help me in speak up in groups.
Read MoreIn the spring of 2011, Jose Melo, a fifth grader at the Dever McCormack School in Dorchester, MA, took his first apprenticeships with Citizen Schools: It’s All About Gummy Bears and Bootstrap. In the midst of learning the science behind what makes gummy bears gummy and what it takes to program a video game, he discovered an appetite for science and math. By the time he graduated from eighth grade three years later, Jose had completed a total of twelve apprenticeships through Citizen Schools - all of which had a focus on STEM.
Read MoreThis past week, I had the opportunity to sit with a group of rising Boston 9th grader girls, who were both graduates of our 8th Grade Academy program and summer interns at Citizen Schools. We gathered to talk about their experience with us and the ways in which Citizen Schools is – and isn’t yet – fulfilling its promise to help middle school students launch confidently into their high school years.
Read MoreThis summer, Citizen Schools welcomed its first cohort of Alumni High School Interns to its headquarters at 308 Congress St in Boston. Through a competitive application process, four Eighth Grade Academy alumni were selected, out of a pool of over 20 candidates, to participate in the inaugural High School Summer Internship Program.
Read MoreBoston, Mass—August 1, 2017 – Today, Citizen Schools, a national nonprofit that partners with public schools to provide academic enrichment in underserved communities in four states, is announcing a major financial investment of $500,000 from Google.org, bringing the company’s total support of Citizen Schools to over $4.5 million
Read MoreRachel Pollinger, of Medford, is among this year’s Gold-level President’s Volunteer Service Award honorees. Pollinger is being recognized for her work as a Citizen Teacher with the national nonprofit, Citizen Schools.
Read MoreRANDOLPH - For volunteers, helping others is its own reward. But this Randolph woman received another reward as well – the President’s Volunteer Service Award.
Read MoreMichael Belivaqua, of Norwell, has been awarded the gold President’s Volunteer Service Award, for his work as a Citizen Teacher with the national non-profit Citizen Schools.
Read MoreEvery week, Norwell resident Michael Bevilacqua goes to work at the law firm WilmerHale, and spends time teaching middle school students from around Boston how to present a case to a judge.
“At the beginning, they don’t want to stand up in front of the class,” he said. “It’s amazing to see what they gain by the end of it. The shyest of them has enough confidence to stand up in front of the judge.”
Read MoreCitizen Schools Massachusetts Teaching Fellows, staff, friends and family gathered at Citizen Schools Headquarters in Boston to congratulate TF2s as they finished their two years of service. Campus directors supervisors were on hand to personally congratulate each TF and share moments from their time at schools around Boston and Chelsea.
Read MoreThere are a number of institutions across the US that recognize the hard work, dedication and drive of AmeriCorps members. They offer a variety of inscentives like matching tution funding to the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award. See a list of participating universities in the Citizen Schools footprint below, or browse the full list here.
Read MoreAlexandra Reynolds and Lauren Riley, both of Brookline, are among this year’s President’s Volunteer Service Awards silver award honorees.
Read MoreSydney Chaffee came to Citizen Schools as an AmeriCorps Teaching Fellow, looking for a way to start her teaching career. She spent two years teaching at schools in Boston with citizen Schools before working at Codman Academy in Dorchester. Sydney was recently awarded the National Teacher of the Year award for her work at Codman Academy. We asked Sydney how her time at Citizen Schools has influenced her work as a teacher.
Read MoreAs an undergraduate, Anay Baez, ’16, enjoyed attending the annual New England LatinX Student Leadership Conference. This year, she was able to bring the event to her alma mater.
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