Garry Davis Explains Why You Should Answer Citizen Schools' Summer Volunteer Call [Interview]
Citizen Schools is a national nonprofit that partners with middle schools in lower-income neighborhoods to give kids a hands-on chance to see what "real world" professionals (that's you) are up to. Locally, they've set up programs at Kealing Middle School and Bedichek Middle School.
The program seeks out working adults of all backgrounds (from yoga instructors to bankers) to who'll commit to a three-month-long apprenticeship, during which they'll have a chance to teach tricks of their trade (think: writing, music, baking) or even mastery of a hobby that might have absolutely nothing to do with their day job but is something that they're passionate about (think: writing, music, baking).
We had a quick chat with Austin Citizen Schools Teaching Fellow Garry Davis, who answered a few helpful questions about the program. Citizen Schools is currently seeking out Austinites for their summer apprenticeships—as you'll learn below, even if you can't sign up for a full eleven-week program, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved.
Tell us a bit about Citizen Schools. How did it get started nationally, what's it all about, and how did the Austin branches come about?
Citizen Schools is a national non-profit afterschool program that partners with middle schools to expand the learning day by engaging students in hands on projects led by adult volunteers and supported by a staff of professional educators. Citizen Schools was founded in 1995 by two social entrepreneurs, Eric Schwarz and Ned Rimer. Their ardor for education led them to bring new solutions to the challenges of the long empty out of school hours, the crucial transition of middle school in a child’s life, and the cumulative power of real world professionals teaching their knowledge to kids, hands on. Consequently, they started Citizen Schools to provide more time, more relevance and more caring adults to the middle school population.
Citizen Schools seeks to partner primarily with schools that are under-served, under-performing, and who have greater than 50% of students from a low socioeconomic background as defined by free and reduced-priced lunch status. In addition, it is the support from the principals, schools, and communities that allow Citizen Schools to permeate the school to provide more opportunities to keep kids safe and achieve more.
Credit must be given to former Bedichek Principal Gail Belcher for bringing Citizen Schools to Austin. After visiting one of our Houston sites, she eagerly initiated our partnership at Bedichek in 06-07. And then because of Mrs. Belcher’s rave review of Citizen Schools to Kealing’s principal, the Kealing community invited us to launch our program there in 07-08. We are grateful for the principals that have partnered with us and championed our program over the last 4 years in Austin.
[Fun Fact: Beth Thorton, wife of Tom Thornton (Austinist's food editor) was a member of the founding team at Bedichek.]
What kind of professionals are you looking for? Is there a vetting process for applicants, or a limited number of participant slots?
Citizen Schools is looking for volunteers in any profession. They can teach tricks of their trade (public relations, finance, law, design, music production, etc.) or mastery of their hobbies (so, if you’re a dentist but wish you owned a bakery, here’s your chance to start a class on sweets!). The possibilities are as diverse as our volunteers’ interests. To view apprenticeship ideas and completed apprenticeship lessons, you can visit www.CTNation.org and click Teach.
To get involved, you can simply visit www.citizenschools.org/volunteer and take 5-10 minutes sign up. Each semester, each Austin campus runs 12 apprenticeships, 6 on Tuesday and the 6 on Wednesday. And each apprenticeship class is composed of 12-16 students who have had the opportunity to choose that specific apprenticeship, ensuring their interest. We often have volunteers enter into this opportunity with friends and colleagues so that they can team teach (which is more fun and spreads out the work!). On average, we have 20-25 adult volunteers leading or co-leading an apprenticeship at each campus each semester. They commit to teaching 90 minutes per week, plus spending the 1-2 hours that it takes each week to plan & prepare. If you are interested, we can find a spot for you.
What if folks are interested but can't necessarily commit to a full 11-week program? Is there a way to get involved in a one-off session, for example?
If you’d like to support Citizen Schools, but can’t commit to the full 11-week apprenticeship program, no worries!
Citizen Schools is passionate about providing diverse volunteer opportunities to the Austin community. You could volunteer to help tutor our students while they are doing their homework. You could be a guest speaker in the classroom. You could volunteer to teach what you know & love (in a less rigorous context) for Discovery Time which is only one-hour a week on Thursday afternoons for 3-4 weeks. You could also donate resources to help Citizen Schools.
Or you could open up a venue for one of our monthly field trips (we are always looking for different venues to take our students to in hopes to expose them to resources, institutions, and topics they might not otherwise encounter)! There are vast ways to volunteer with Citizen Schools. To explore any of these possibilities, please contact a staff member at the campus nearest you!
Tell us how you personally got involved with this program.
I am a passionate advocate for equality, especially when it comes to education. And I would rather be an active participant than a passive lay person. Thus, after having an opportunity to pursue a career in education, (being laid off from a previous job because of funding issues), I thought of Citizen Schools because I remembered them from a volunteer fair that I had attended in previous years.
Upon doing a bit more research into Citizen Schools, I learned about the National Teaching Fellowship, an intensive and dynamic two year leadership development service program focused on education and community building.
The Fellowship was a great fit for what I was looking for. I love teaching and working with kids. I love gaining new and varied experiences as well as community building, and because it’s an AmeriCorps-funded program, I am earning an Education Award that will contribute toward my graduate education!
Since I started the Fellowship in 2009, I’ve gotten to sharpen my leadership skills by working on the frontlines of education reform. So... here I am working as a Citizen Schools National Teaching Fellow! And it is awesome, hard, but rewarding work!
