Citizen Schools

As part of his after-school apprenticeships in stop-motion moviemaking, philanthropy and food journalism, 13-year-old Brian Robison was surprised to learn he had picked up other skills aimed at preparing him for college and beyond.

“I didn’t realize I was listening actively,” Robison said.

Robison, an eighth-grader at Van Buren Middle School, and about 75 of his peers spend three hours a day after school Monday through Thursday going over their homework with tutors or learning skills from experts in fields as diverse as ecology, cooking, rocket-building and rugby. Active listening is one of the overarching, 21st century skills that teachers and volunteers hope to stress for all students.

The extended school day is part of the Citizen Schools program, which helps sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders become inspired about learning and gain necessary skills for the 21st century, Citizen Schools spokeswoman Holly Trippett said in a recent phone interview from her Boston office.

The program spends $1,800 to $2,500 per student per semester, thanks to funding from Google, the Carnegie Foundation of New York and others, she said.

At Van Buren, teachers, volunteer experts and Citizen Schools employees work to improve students’ academic performance and make them passionate about potential careers.

“Being able to see their growth and improving their Cs and Ds to As and Bs is really rewarding,” said Velina Chavez, Van Buren Citizen Schools campus director. “They’ve become master moviemakers, master rugby players, master scientists of the bosque.”

In one Van Buren classroom recently, a group of students oohed and ahhed at a red-tailed hawk that the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program brought in as part the “Bosque Biology Bonanza” apprenticeship.

Next door, students sat in a dimly lit room and discussed the finer points of stop-motion films, sharing tips about how to prevent the camera tripod from wobbling too much between shots.

Down the hall, aspiring middle school chefs learned how to pronounce “Worcestershire” and marveled at the steaming pan of green chile chicken enchiladas they had prepared.

And outside, boys and girls ran through a rugby passing drill with help from local players, pausing to do four pushups.

“I think that sports is something you can carry through your entire life,” rugby apprenticeship teacher Allegra Howell said. “Rugby really builds community.”

About 350 students participate in Citizen Schools statewide, with two other programs at De Vargas Middle School in Santa Fe and the Mescalero Apache School on the Mescalero Apache Reservation.

In each of the apprenticeships, a program employee works alongside the experts to stress the objective of preparing students for college and the 21st century. The “21st century objectives” include active listening, communication, data analysis, technology and advanced literacy.

The Citizen Schools program began in Boston in 1995. A 2010 study of Boston middle school students found that participants had high school graduation rates of 71 percent, 12 percent higher than other students.

Citizen Schools didn’t have data specific to New Mexico.

Before Robison began his after-school apprenticeships, he said he had difficulty speaking with adults and expressing his ideas. Since he’s begun participating, Robison said he’s become a better leader among his peers and has new career aspirations.

“I think being the president would be a good idea,” Robison said. “When I told my brother that, he was amazed that I would set such a high goal.”