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DURHAM – Four days a week this semester, every single Neal Middle School sixth-grader has remained on campus for three hours beyond the end-of-school bell. Thanks to a new Citizen Schools extended-learning-day program, they’ve gotten expert help with homework. They’ve programmed robots. They’ve learned to argue like a law student. For the first time, some have – literally – gotten their hands dirty.
“One student had never touched dirt in her life,” said Kacie Martin, a master gardener and former UNC professor who taught a Citizen Schools “apprenticeship,” or class, on urban gardening this semester.
Not only did that student get dirt under her fingernails, but she also got up close and personal with the worms that made it fertile enough to nurture seeds and plugs of cauliflower, radishes, cabbage and spinach in raised beds on the school campus.
The extended-day Citizen Schools program’s implementation at Neal this year aligns with the school’s transformation to a STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – model, and many of the 20 apprenticeships focused on STEM concepts.
Some 270 students participated this semester in the program that was mandatory for all Neal sixth-graders. Students didn’t seem to mind being forced to stay on campus for an extra few hours each day, though, Principal Jill Hall said.
“They love it. We know they love it because the attendance is over 85 percent every day,” she said last week at what Citizen Schools calls the WOW! community event in which students teach back what they’ve learned. “It’s really wonderful for the sixth-graders and for the school in general to have something that sets us apart, something to offer the students at Neal.”
Citizen Schools is a national education nonprofit that has run a smaller program at Lowe’s Grove Middle School since the 2008-09 school year.
Hundreds of family members and educators turned out last week for the WOW! during which students demonstrated their semester’s work with performances and presentations.
Lakeisha Ivey was glowing in her praise of the “awesome program” as she waited for her daughter to perform a step routine in culmination of her “Beautiful Girls” apprenticeship. She loves that her daughter gets assistance with her homework, and she’s seen a real change in her over the course of the semester.
“She’s learned so much and has opened up a lot since she’s been in Citizen Schools,” Ivey said. “She’s more interested in doing things, and I’ve noticed that her communication skills are better.”
Each student participated in two apprenticeships, each meeting once a week, said Shannon Grossman, a Citizen Schools fellow, or staff teacher. Apprenticeships are typically taught by volunteer community members like Martin, some of whom volunteer through their employers. The program’s biggest corporate partners are Cisco, EMC and Fidelity Investments. Some other volunteers, like the Duke and N.C. Central University law students who taught mock trial apprenticeships, participate through universities.
“For Citizen Schools overall, we focus on math and English language arts, but the apprenticeships focus on a range of skills,” Grossman said. “One thing that we’re working on are the 21st century skills that go along with the apprenticeships. That is anything from oral communication to leadership skills, along with the skills that they’re learning in class, like science and math skills.”
Sixth-grader Nelly Herrera Hernandez was eager to pass on her newfound expertise in Mexican architecture at last week’s WOW! event. She explained how she and her classmates created a small-scale replica of the Kukulcán pyramid, built by Mayans in a way that a shadow resembling a snake descending the stairs is cast during the spring and fall equinox.
The Mexican architecture apprenticeship was Nelly’s first choice, and to her great delight, “I got it!” she exclaimed. She had nothing but good things to say about Citizen Schools, where she also participated in a journalism apprenticeship.
“I think it’s good because we can have a good education, and also do our homework at school,” she said. “We can start learning better instead of laying down and watching TV or just using the computer at home.”
