Hands-on Technology Experience for Low-Income Kids

Citizen Schools equips young people with the skills, access and beliefs they need to thrive as students and succeed as adults in the modern economy.

We envision a world in which schools, companies and families partner to provide students with a set of real-world learning experiences that put them on a path to college and career success.

It has been an exciting last couple of months here at Citizen Schools, students all across our network have had the opportunity to do many amazing things, to learn more continue reading below.

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In California students learned the Power of Persuasive Writing to Advocate for those in NeedJacky Bailey is a volunteer Citizen Teacher who joined Citizen Schools, after moving to the Bay Area from Australia, because she missed working with students and wanted to get to know her new community. When Bailey decided to teach an apprenticeship with Citizen Schools for the second time, she wanted to ensure her students could enact and advocate for change in the real world - and not just theoretically in the classroom. ‘

This semester, in the wake of the disastrous California wildfires, her students took notice of the homeless population, who were stuck outside on the street breathing toxins in the air, while other Bay Area residents were advised to stay inside. They identified Redwood City-basedLifeMoves, an organization that focuses on transitional housing and services, as the subject of their final project - a letter asking the public to donate to LifeMoves and help address this critical issue facing their community.

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Make For All Launches National Call to Action to Expand Support for Maker-Centered Learning for All Students.Citizen Schools' Make For All initiative, a national coalition of leading education organizations, issued a 2019 call to action for K-12 schools, colleges, companies, makerspaces, museums, libraries, local governments, agencies and non-profit organizations across the country to work together and expand their efforts to support maker-centered learning, and build a strong focus on equity that reaches all students.

Maker-centered learning focuses on experiences which provide students with the opportunity to explore their world through designing, hacking, building, prototyping and experimenting, putting the child at the center of the learning experience.

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On Tuesday, December 11th, Citizen Schools Massachusetts students from the Trotter Innovation School, East Somerville Community School and Orchard Gardens K-8 schools got the chance showcase all that they have learned and practiced in a Mock Trial at the Moakley Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts.For over a decade Citizen Schools has partnered with Discovering Justice to bring students this opportunity.  For over a decade Citizen Schools has partnered withDiscovering Justice to bring students this opportunity.  Each year, the event starts with an opening reception with a keynote speech by local ‘celebrity’ or politician. This year was no different, students had the chance to hear from,Rachael Rollins - the first black woman elected to District Attorney for Suffolk County. Rollins started her speech by reminding students that “this is your building, I want you to know that you are welcomed here - you can come here anytime you want.”

The evening continued to be filled with awe and inspiration as parents, community members and visitors alike got a chance to watch students argue their case and defend their clients in front of real judges. Like watching Nisrine Feham, a 6th grader from The Trotter Innovation School make an opening case for why she believed her client in question is in fact guilty and did not have their rights violated or watching 7th grader, Mariaelena Suazo maintain her composure even after dropping her closing argument cue cards and losing her train of thought.

A special thanks to volunteer Citizen Teachers from  WilmerHale,Mintz Levin,TripAdvisor,GE, andJones Day, who worked with all our students over the course of the last 10 weeks to get them ready for this incredibly special day.