In April 2021, Trevon Adams, Nadia K. Selby, and Kruschef Sanchez were invited to join Connor Anovick, a former Citizen Schools volunteer himself. They discuss how COVID has impacted public schools and how Citizen Schools supports public schools, both during and before the pandemic.
Read MoreDr. Katie McBrine is a Pediatrician at Healthcare South in Scituate, MA who started to make her own Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when the hospital ran out. Students, parents and staff from our Somerville, MA schools joined online last Thursday, May 7th to learn how to make simple masks without any sewing involved.
Read MoreWith 124,000 U.S. public and private schools closed and 51 million students impacted, the effects of COVID-19 can be felt far and wide. Our making communities have stepped up to the challenge in critical ways to continue maker-centered learning and to apply capacity and resources to support healthcare workers and first responders.
Read MoreWhen Google closed its offices due to COVID-19 a week before NYC public schools did, our Google Citizen Teachers didn’t hesitate to think of ways to continue apprenticeships virtually. “It wasn’t an option to not make this work. This is a commitment we made to students and we don’t want to let them down,” says Jackie Zopf, Music Operations Program manager, YouTube. “We’re connecting globally every day—this is normal for Google and we’re fortunate to be well-resourced.”
Read MoreThe day after NYC public schools closed their doors, Principal Kourtney Boyd asked if the Citizen Schools New York (CSNY) team at P.S. 157 could help by calling parents and putting together a list of students’ tech needs at home. Campus Director Jay Torres was ready to deliver—at that very moment. She and her team of AmeriCorps Teaching Fellows had collected this information from the beginning of the school year, having prioritized parent involvement as an important driver of student engagement—“this is the core” says Teaching Fellow Brenda Amaya.
Read MoreIn early March, UNESCO confirmed that school closures in an effort to curb the COVID-19 pandemic have affected 290 million students across 22 countries. In the U.S., school closures due to coronavirus have impacted at least 124,000 U.S. public and private schools and affected at least 55.1 million students.
Read MoreAfter Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza announced all New York City schools will move to a Remote Learning Model until April, CSNY campus teams at Renaissance School of the Arts and Benjamin Franklin Health Science Academy teamed up with school leaders and teachers on the distribution of computer devices to students and ensuring families are equipped with the necessary knowledge to operate academic sites and gain access to learning materials.
Read MoreIn response to recent school closures, CSCA staff are implementing virtual ways to maintain strong relationships with their students as regularly scheduled apprenticeships are now postponed until further notice. As school closures are extended, our staff are preparing to work even more closely with school leaders and teachers to directly support the potential academic slide. We are preparing to return to school ready to support wherever we are needed the most.
Read MoreDespite school closures, Massachusetts Teaching Fellows remain steadfastly committed to service. In between participating in virtual professional development modules, Teaching Fellows are supporting our students, public school teachers, and school communities through a variety of different avenues.
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