Citizen Schools is a leading national educational initiative that uniquely mobilizes thousands of adult volunteers to help improve student achievement by teaching skill-building apprenticeships after school. Our programs blend these real-world learning projects with rigorous academic and leadership development activities, preparing students in the middle grades for success in high school, college, the workforce, and civic life.

Description:
Apprenticeships at Citizen Schools give adults the opportunity to take what they do best in their professional careers or personal pursuits and use it to help middle-school students move to a long-term trajectory of success.

Volunteer Citizen Teachers enable young people to learn real-world skills by creating real-world projects. Lawyers turn their apprentices into prosecutors, artists cultivate young muralists, gardeners lead a team of twelve-year-old green thumbs.

“WOW!” is what people usually say when they encounter the results of the apprentices’ work. So that’s what we call the final product, presentation or performance at the end of each apprenticeship. Every WOW! showcases the students’ learning for a public audience of family, school staff, and community leaders. Past WOW!s include a video on lead contamination, a prize-winning solar car, an arts festival, a naval warship design, a CD of local
music, even a financial plan for a new business—all created by young people themselves.

History:
Launched in Boston in 1995, Citizen Schools currently serves 3,000 students and engages 2,400 volunteers in 16 cities nationwide.

Contact people:

Melissa Rouette, Volunteer Manager, (phone), (email) Johanna Pemberton, Volunteer Coordinator, (phone), (email) Alison Stahl, Program Coordinator, (phone), (email)

Address:

529 Salem St. Malden, MA 02148 (See a map)

Directions:

Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: Malden Station,   Walk distance (in minutes): 20   Nearest Bus Stop: 108, 106, 411, 430, 1 minute walk For maps or information, please see http://www.mbta.com