Students being creative at Ben Franklin	Student repairing a robot at MIT	Catering Apprenticeship at Ben Franklin
8GA mural at MIT	Community Service apprenticeship at Campbell	Cooking apprenticeship at Kennedy

Apprenticeships are the centerpiece of Citizen Schools' strategy to engage middle school students in active learning.  Students work alongside Citizen Teachers who share their passion, expertise, and professionalism over a 10-week period.  Through apprenticeships students learn the skills necessary for success in the 21st century, including oral presentation, data analysis, technology, leadership, and teamwork.

Each apprenticeship culminates in a WOW! - a product, performance, or presentation produced by the students and taught back to the community.  During WOW!s students demonstrate mastery over the skills they have acquired and give back to the community by sharing their learning or product.  The demonstration is done with professional quality and students are given the opportunity to share their new skills with a group of interested onlookers.  Apprenticeships are evaluated utilizing a standard high quality rubric that provides constructive feedback on each hands-on learning experience.

Interested in teaching an apprenticeship?

Please view our Fall 2010 Apprenticeship Calendar for training dates.

Volunteerism in Action

Along with thousands of individuals, many corporations and civic organizations have partnered with Citizen Schools and provided meaningful volunteer experiences fro their employees that draw on their business expertise and professional skills. Whether delivered via apprenticeships or community service days, these volunteers and staff of professional educators build strong connections with students, school teachers and families every week building strong communities.

Citizen Schools California works with a number of partners whose employees share their expertise and time with Bay Area students to foster experiential learning. Examples include:

• Apprenticeships with Goldman Sachs focus on financial planning and portfolio management. Students evaluate businesses, choose stock portfolios then track their value during the semester.
• In partnership with attorneys from McDermott, Will & Emery, Ropes & Gray, and WilmerHale students participate in law apprenticeships that culminate in mock trials showcasing the student's knowledge of the legal system to sitting judges, jurors and community members. 
• Employees from Google have shared their passion and expertise in more than 50 apprenticeships over three years including video game design, website development and even cooking!