Hands-on Technology Experience for Low-Income Kids

In the 2013-14 school year, Citizen Schools served 5,000 students from low-income communities, expanding the learning day in partnership with high-need middle schools in order to close the opportunity gap. Google remained one of Citizen Schools’ leading investors – not only through financial support but especially through the human capital of Googlers who taught 10-week, hands-on apprenticeships to our students.

In 2013-14, 137 Google Citizen Teachers led 57 apprenticeships in Citizen Schools programs, bringing learning to life for more 950 students. Apprenticeships taught by Googlers included:

• Secret Codes, Games, and Magic with Google – In this apprenticeship, math comes to life in a new way! Some things aren’t exactly as they seem. Students discovered how mathematics is hidden in everyday life and adventure. For their culminating WOW! presentation, students worked in teams to solve codes, play games, and perform the magic tricks that they learned during the semester. They then effectively communicated how and why they were successful and detailed the mathematics behind each element.
• Lego Robotics with Google - Students worked alongside Google volunteers to learn about basic robotics, a rapidly growing field in computer science. The Google “Citizen Teachers” designed the apprenticeship to culminate in a judged competition as part of the WOW! showcase that included a teamwork interview, research presentation, and robot demonstration. Working in teams, students learned basic robot design and, through applied knowledge of computer programming (NXT), research and design and intense collaboration with team members, constructed their own robots and a research presentation that resulted in a unique solution to a problem related to the competition’s challenge theme. During their WOW! presentations, students demonstrated their knowledge of how and why such robots operate the way they do. The apprenticeship curriculum also provided explicit connections to the career options and educational experiences necessary to fulfilling a career in robotics design.

“I got the chance to teach, give back, and understand what kids these days go through in terms of their daily challenges and how those are different than the ones I grew up with (more cell phones, bullying, etc.). I've gotten to know all our kids really well and all of them have learned how to develop a mobile app, which is awesome.” – Albert Chingg, Google Volunteer Citizen Teacher

“I have become a better presenter and am a more well-rounded person having worked with middle schoolers through Citizen Schools. Being able to teach students and make a topic like math interesting to 11-year old kids also makes me more enthusiastic about math and teaching. Being involved with Citizen Schools has also made me better at multi-tasking as I need to balance the Citizen Schools workload with my overall workload.” – Onalie Sotak, Google Volunteer Citizen Teacher

The President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizes and honors volunteers who set a standard for service, encourage a sustained commitment to civic participation, and inspire others to make service a central part of their lives. Citizen Schools is pleased to join President Obama in saluting these 25 amazing Google Citizen Teachers who were awarded Presidential Volunteer Service Awards this year:

• Susan Dickey and Onalie Sotak received Gold Awards for teaching four out of the last four semesters
• Gwenyth Beaven, Harry Bullen, Tayeb Karim, and Charles Sawyer received Silver Awards for teaching three out of the last four semesters
• Carlos Faria, Martin Freund, Adam Gabai, Brad Geddes, Victoria Ho, Michelle Hocking, Asher Kach, Cara Kalnow, Ben Lavallee, Derek Libby, Yana Malysheva, Jessica Marquardt, Mark Nahabedian, Britton Picciolini, Gautam Ramdurai, Carol Rosenberg, Birendro Roy, Robbie Shade, and Lindsay Wishart all received Bronze Awards for teaching two out of the last four semesters     

Citizen Schools and Google had several opportunities to celebrate together this spring:

• WOW! Events: The end of each semester brings WOW! season, a series of events at which students teach back what they’ve learned in their apprenticeships to their families, teachers, and communities. In spring 2014, special WOW! events that highlighted our partnership with Google took place at Google regional headquarters in New York; Cambridge, MA; and Mountain View, CA. As a part of the WOW! at Google New York, Google Citizen Teachers captured quotes from their students about their impressions of what is was like to work at Google. Some of the quotes included “Google is like a big Gamestop,” and “We made robots that we didn’t even know could exist.”
• Press and PR: Citizen Schools’ partnership with Google was highlighted in several online and print publications. Examples and links are included with this report.

Citizen Schools is excited to continue our powerful partnership with Google and its employees. With fall apprenticeships around the corner, Citizen Schools is hard at work with their Google champions in each region to recruit new volunteers to teach. Passionate Googlers like Jeff Breau (California), Britton Piccolini (Illinois), Bob Cassels (Massachusetts) and Gautam Ramdurai (New York) share their personal stories of impact and serve as engagers with fellow Googlers.

The expertise and enthusiasm of Google Citizen Teachers continues to inspire children in our programs to explore new worlds and prepare meaningfully for their futures.  

Links:

• Citizen Schools website
• Citizen Schools celebrates Google (video)
• Breaking Good (Forbes) - a study of Citizen Schools volunteers

• Citizen Schools + Google Partnership Snapshot (PDF)
  
• Google Volunteer Recruitment Posters (PDF)
  
• Isaac Newton Middle School + STEM (PDF)
  
• McCormack Middle School + STEM (PDF)