Citizen Schools
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| Founded | 1995 |
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| Founder | Eric Schwarz & Ned Rimer, Co-Founders |
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Key people
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Emily McCann, CEO Kait Rogers, "Chief Financial and Administrative Officer" Pat Kirby, Chief Growth Officer and MA Executive Director Maria Drake, CA Executive Director Jeanette Castellanos Butt , IL Executive Director Megan Bird, MA Executive Director Vanessa Benton, NC Executive Director Wendy Lee, NY Executive Director Greg Meyers, TX Executive Director |
| Slogan | What will you teach? |
| Website | citizenschools.org |
Citizen Schools is an American nonprofit organization that partners with middle schools across the United States to expand the learning day for children in low-income communities. Its stated mission is "educating children and strengthening communities". Currently, Citizen Schools serves over 5,000 students and recruits over 4,280 volunteers over 31 program sites in 13 cities across 7 states. The center pieces of the Citizen Schools model are its apprenticeship programs run by volunteers that culminate in public demonstrations called WOW!s, and partnering with some middle schools to expand learning time for students. Citizen Schools offers the AmeriCorps National Teaching Fellowship providing a 2-year paid service opportunity for citizens interested in using their personal talents to enhance life opportunities for middle school students. Fellows in their second year can participate in a residency program operated by one of three university partners to obtain teacher certification in California, Massachusetts and New York. In honor of its 20 anniversary in 2015, Citizen Schools honored 20 alumni of the Fellowship who continue to make a profound impact in the community today.
Citizen Schools was founded by Eric Schwarz and Ned Rimer who were college roommates at the University of Vermont. Concerned with the rise of youth crime, struggling neighborhoods, and challenges within public schools in Boston, Eric and Ned sought to educate middle school age children through hands-on apprenticeships in real-world fields. In 1994, they volunteered to teach apprenticeships based on their professional knowledge to 20 students at Dorchester's Paul A. Dever Elementary School. As a former reporter, Eric led an apprenticeship in journalism while Ned taught first aid after having run the EMT squad at the University of Vermont. In early 1995, Citizen Schools formally registered as a non-profit organization. The first full program was launched that summer, serving 63 children. Schwarz and Rimer's first employee, John Werner, led the first school partnership; Werner created and scaled the capstone 8th Grade Academy program, founded the writing coach program and oversaw the Expanded Learning Time pilot.
Within a year, the basic elements were in place: after-school programs operating out of Boston public school buildings, apprenticeships taught by community volunteers, explorations into the community, focused time to develop academic skills, and team building activities to develop social skills. Citizen Schools grew initially in Boston, wanting to prove the model in Boston to establish itself as a leader in quality programming before expanding geographically. “To have impact on a huge scale, you do not necessarily need to have the dominant market share,” says Schwarz. "We need to remain a big fish in Boston, and we can then leverage those resources, ideas, and our model to other educational entrepreneurs [beyond Boston]." In fall of 2001, the organization started its 8th Grade Academy in Boston to support Citizen Schools participants in preparing to transition to high school and college. The organization grew significantly in 2002, opening affiliate sites outside of Boston in Framingham and Worcester, as well as in Texas and California.
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