1. COMMON PROPOSAL FORM
FULL PROPOSAL NARRATIVE
*Only the sections that are highlighted in yellow are editable*
Request to: Confidential
Organization Name: Citizen Schools
Project Name: Enhancing the Benefits of Hands-on Apprenticeships for Middle School Students
Amount of Request: $10,000
Organizational Information (1 page total)
1. Organization’s History
Citizen Schools was founded in 1995 by Eric Schwarz and Ned Rimer. Eric and Ned taught
Citizen Schools’ first apprenticeships in Boston, working with small groups of fifth graders to
publish a community newspaper and to deliver first aid in their school. In 2002, Citizen
Schools began launching its first programs in other cities, and now serves students in New
York, Illinois, California, Texas, and North Carolina. During the 2016-17 school year, Citizen
Schools Massachusetts will enroll approximately 1,863 students and mobilize 750 volunteers
at seven campuses in Salem, Roxbury, Dorchester, Charlestown, and Chelsea.
2. Organizational Goals and Objectives
Citizen Schools' main, overarching goal is to educate children and strengthen communities.
Since 1995, Citizen Schools has partnered with public middle schools in low-income
communities to close the achievement and opportunity gaps by providing programming that
addresses both current learning and future opportunity. At the Collins Middle School in
Salem, Citizen Schools provides real-world, hands-on projects known as apprenticeships.
Our objective is to challenge students to be producers, leaders, and stewards of their own
futures and strive to move them onto a "success track," heading toward high school
graduation, college attainment, and leadership positions in their careers and communities.
3. Programs and Services
At Citizen Schools, students develop the skills they need to succeed in high school, college,
the workforce, and civic life. Twice each week, students work alongside adult volunteers
who share topics they know and love in 10-week apprenticeship courses. Students enroll in
four apprenticeships annually, and each apprenticeship concludes the semester with apublic
celebration of learning (the "WOW!") that gives students the opportunity to teach back what
they’ve learned to their community.. Last year, working alongside caring and passionate
adult volunteers, students at Collins Middle School completed hands-on projects in intriguing
apprenticeship courses like AdLab with Salem Access TV, Social Entrepreneurship with North
Shore Medical Center, and Mock Trial with the Public Defender’s Office.
4. Organizational Structure (Please describe role of board, staff and volunteers and respond
to this question: Are the demographics of your targeted constituents reflected in the
composition of your staff and board?)
Citizen Schools’ Board of Directors includes leaders from the corporate, non-profit, and
philanthropic sectors. The Board sets annual goals, develops long-term strategy, ensures
accountability for program quality, and ensures financial discipline. Citizen Schools’ staff
members work closely together to implement, monitor, and evaluate high-quality
Associated Grant Makers provides this form as a service to foundations and corporate grant makers,
and nonprofit organizations seeking grants in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. We prohibit any
duplication or modification of this document without permission.
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2. programming at each of our school sites. Local volunteers, known as “Citizen Teachers,”
share their passion, expertise and professionalism in apprenticeship courses. Twice each
week these volunteers teach apprenticeships selected from the growing curriculum library
curated by Citizen Schools staff or work with staff to design a new apprenticeship that will
build both content knowledge and 21st century skills. Citizen Teachers come from all walks
of life and become a vibrant and essential part of our team who recognize the importance of
eliminating the achievement gap for low-income students by building skills, providing
resources, and instilling the belief that success is attainable. Citizen Schools is always
striving to recruit a diverse pool of staff and volunteers including people of color and
Spanish speakers who will better serve our students' learning needs and personal
development.
Proposal Information (3-4 pages total)
5. Description of Need (What is the issue you plan to address? What are the demographics
and number of people you plan to serve, if applicable?)
Citizen Schools partners with middle schools in low-income urban communities. Across
Citizen Schools’ partner schools in Massachusetts, an average of 56% of students are
economically disadvantaged, 88% are nonwhite, 29% are English Language Learners, and
19% have special needs. Many of our partner schools are struggling to reach their academic
goals for students, with average proficiency rates of 24% in Math and 28% in English
Language Arts. Our program at Collins Middle School is designed specifically to meet the
developmental and social-emotional needs of these early adolescents. According to the
“Foundations for Young Adult Success” developmental framework constructed by
researchers at the University of Chicago, “Creating successful contexts for early adolescents
– whether inside or outside of schools – would require that we meet their developmental
needs for increasing independence from adult control, extended interaction with peers,
exploration with things they have interest in, and opportunities to engage in increasingly
complex forms of thinking, communicating, and problem-solving” (Nagaoka et al.2015: pp.
68-69). Citizen Schools’ apprenticeships are designed to create just such a context, with
students choosing topics that interest them and completing long-term projects with teams
of their peers. Citizen Schools creates a space in which students – many of whom struggle
to feel successful in traditional academic environments – experience successful teamwork
and the chance to develop an identity as an expert in aeronautics, nutrition, or coding. In
addition to the programs we operate directly, our national STEM mentoring initiative,
US2020, engages companies, education nonprofits, and communities with the goal of
mobilizing one million mentors in science, technology, engineering, and math by 2020. In
2015-16, US2020 reached 15,000 young people across the country.
6. Description of Request, including project period
In the 2016-2017 academic year, Citizen Schools will deliver apprenticeships to
approximately 280 6th and 7th graders at Collins Middle School. This represents an increase
of 75% in our enrollment from the 2015-2016 academic year, in which we served
approximately 160 6th graders.In Citizen Schools’ apprenticeships, students have
researched astrobiology, refurbished computers, studied human brains, designed solar cars,
created hot air balloons to study astrophysics, built Lego robots, developed websites,
advised their schools on reducing their carbon footprints, and contructed model solar
systems. Students have worked with technology experts, marine biologists, university
researchers, neuroscientists, and engineers. The skills learned in these hands-on lessons —
to hypothesize, imagine, design, collect and analyze data, give and take feedback, strive,
and persevere — are the same skills students need in order to succeed in school and to
grow as young leaders. Apprenticeships are fun, authentic, hands-on, and relevant. They
also foster positive relationships between students and adults, who work side-by-side to
Associated Grant Makers provides this form as a service to foundations and corporate grant makers,
and nonprofit organizations seeking grants in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. We prohibit any
duplication or modification of this document without permission.
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3. create products of professional quality. For example,in Secrets of a Millionaire with Cabot
Wealth Management, students work in groups with experts on client accounts, and learn
about paying back student loans, budgeting, and first time investing, with a focus on the
process of managing money so they have the opportunity to make educated financial
decisions in the future. In Kids Capture Their Universe with the Salem Department of Public
Works, students learn to request astronomical images from the MicroObservatory robotic
telescope network and use image-processing software to reveal and emphasize important
details about their images, just as professional astronomers do. Citizen Schools extends
classroom walls into the community, leveraging the untapped potential of community
members to provide “catalyst moments” for students to discover future career pathways.
7. Goals and Objectives for this Request (How will this grant strengthen the organization,
address the issues, make improvements, and/or achieve success?)
Objective: Students prioritize education and value their time at school.
Outcome: Students attend at high rates.
Target: 90% attendance rate in grade levels served by Citizen Schools.
Objective: Students develop the 21st century skills of collaboration, communication,
innovation, and problem solving.
Outcome: Students demonstrate mastery of 21st century skills.
Target: 70% of students achieve benchmarks for mastery of select 21st century skills
targeted through their apprenticeships.
Objective: Students are inspired to pursue education and careers in science, technology,
engineering, and math (STEM).
Outcome: Students have access to high-quality, hands-on STEM learning experiences.
Target: At least 50% of apprenticeships offered by Citizen Schools are in STEM fields.
Objective: Citizen Teachers enjoy and benefit from their volunteer experience.
Outcome: Citizen Teachers report their experience in an end-of-semester survey that
gathers qualitative and quantitative information on the volunteer experience. The survey
encompasses six main focus areas ranging from professional development, campus staff
support, and future engagement.
Target: Citizen Teachers report an average Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 8 or more on a
scale of 0-10.
8. Specific Activities (Include information about service delivery and timeline.)
Citizen Schools’ year-long timeline includes the following activities:
July – August: training and orientation for campus-level staff; Teaching Fellows gather in
Boston for a week of classes; the National Research and Evaluation Department analyzes
data and compiles evaluation report; volunteer Citizen Teacher recruitment for fall
apprenticeships.
September: fall semester program launch; apprenticeships commence.
September – November: program ongoing; data collection occurs; all Teaching Fellows
participate in multiple in-service trainings and ongoing coaching by Campus Directors and
Program Directors.
December-January: student WOW! presentations of apprenticeship projects; semester
wrap-up; spring semester volunteer Citizen Teacher recruitment; mid-year data reports are
posted by the National Research and Evaluation Department
January-February: mid-year program impact review of first semester data; spring semester
program launch; apprenticeships commence in mid-February.
Associated Grant Makers provides this form as a service to foundations and corporate grant makers,
and nonprofit organizations seeking grants in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. We prohibit any
duplication or modification of this document without permission.
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4. February – April: program ongoing; ongoing coaching by Campus Directors and Program
Directors; hiring begins for campus-level staff for the following year.
May – June: student WOW! presentations of apprenticeship projects; semester wrap-up;
program site data entered.
9. Evaluation (What are the anticipated results? What methods will you use to measure
your progress?)
Evaluation and data use are built into Citizen Schools’ model. We use a Program Profile to
track performance against targets for key metrics of dosage, program quality, and short-
term student outcomes. Measures of dosage include attendance and the percentage of
students who participate for a full year. Measures of program quality include student
engagement, instructor and volunteer collaboration, and curricula alignment. Short-term
outcomes include improved 21st Century skills, and strong social-emotional learning. To
measure 21st century skills, Citizen Schools utilizes performance tasks to measure students’
mastery of four “power skills”: communication, collaboration, innovation, and problem
solving. Each apprenticeship is mapped to a particular power skill, and Citizen Schools’
National Program Department and local program staff design a performance task for each
apprenticeship that is used to assess mastery of the targeted skill, using rubrics that are
aligned with Common Core state standards.
Social-emotional learning is measured through surveys delivered twice per year designed by
Transforming Education (TransformEd), an initiative of the National Center on Time and
Learning, which measures four elements of social-emotional competence: growth mindset,
self-efficacy, self-management, and social awareness. The survey is being used in the
largest SEL-focused measurement pilot to date within California’s CORE districts, assessing
over a million students in social-emotional growth. Thus we will benefit from external
expertise and benchmarks for the SEL measurement, while also continuing to build the
strength of our own internal assessments.
Staff on campus and at the regional level are responsible for entering, reporting, and
analyzing Program Profile data using a secure online database. Formal Program Profile
reports are available at the end of each semester, while real-time dashboards provide staff
with timely data to inform their work. Each summer, Citizen Schools sets ambitious but
achievable targets for the following academic year in order to drive continuous
improvement.
10. Anything else you would like to add?
Citizen Schools would enthusiastically welcome an opportunity to make Salem Five
employees a part of our growing community of volunteers through both long and short term
opportunities. For employees who are interested in engaging with students on a sustained
basis, we invite them to teach an apprenticeship with the help and support of our campus
staff. For employees needing a more flexible time commitment, there are valuable
opportunities to support our students by leading a one-day community exploration,
volunteering at a Career Day, or serving as a guest judge or panelist at a WOW! event.
Citizen Schools delivers extensive volunteer training, including collaborating with volunteers
to craft effective, engaging lesson plans and deliver dynamic apprenticeships. Citizen
Schools staff members support volunteers by aiding with instruction and behavior
management in the classroom and providing logistical support for activities and the final
WOW! Showcase event.
A recent study found that leading a Citizen Schools apprenticeship may help volunteers
develop their own skills and may increase job satisfaction and employer loyalty. In 2012-13,
Professor David A. Jones of the University of Vermont surveyed volunteers who work for
Associated Grant Makers provides this form as a service to foundations and corporate grant makers,
and nonprofit organizations seeking grants in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. We prohibit any
duplication or modification of this document without permission.
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5. four of Citizen Schools’ largest partners: Cisco, Cognizant, Fidelity, and Google. Professor
Jones found that substantial numbers of Citizen Teachers reported improvements in specific
work-related skills such as presenting, leading and motivating others, and providing
performance feedback. The findings suggest that these reported improvements are likely
due to the apprenticeship experience rather than simply reflecting typical skill development
over time. Professor Jones also found that many Citizen Teachers responded favorably to
their employers’ support for their volunteer experience, reporting greater job satisfaction
and trust and a stronger intention to remain with their organization — a strong predictor of
employee retention. This promising new evidence indicates that the volunteer experience
offered by Citizen Schools produces concrete benefits for volunteers as well as their
employers.
Attachments:
Suggested items include:
• Recent audit or financial review (for those organizations who have them)
• Logic model (for those organizations who have them)
• Board list with affiliations
• Annual report
Associated Grant Makers provides this form as a service to foundations and corporate grant makers,
and nonprofit organizations seeking grants in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. We prohibit any
duplication or modification of this document without permission.
- 5 -

6. four of Citizen Schools’ largest partners: Cisco, Cognizant, Fidelity, and Google. Professor
Jones found that substantial numbers of Citizen Teachers reported improvements in specific
work-related skills such as presenting, leading and motivating others, and providing
performance feedback. The findings suggest that these reported improvements are likely
due to the apprenticeship experience rather than simply reflecting typical skill development
over time. Professor Jones also found that many Citizen Teachers responded favorably to
their employers’ support for their volunteer experience, reporting greater job satisfaction
and trust and a stronger intention to remain with their organization — a strong predictor of
employee retention. This promising new evidence indicates that the volunteer experience
offered by Citizen Schools produces concrete benefits for volunteers as well as their
employers.
Attachments:
Suggested items include:
• Recent audit or financial review (for those organizations who have them)
• Logic model (for those organizations who have them)
• Board list with affiliations
• Annual report
Associated Grant Makers provides this form as a service to foundations and corporate grant makers,
and nonprofit organizations seeking grants in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. We prohibit any
duplication or modification of this document without permission.
- 5 -