Joshi from the Gavin Middle School was a speaker at the launch party. Here he is with writing coach Andrew Batchelor from Goodwin Procter LLP.
It’s usually not a good thing to hear about middle schoolers spending their afternoons with lawyers, but when they’re part of Citizen Schools’ 8th Grade Academy (8GA), it’s a powerful positive experience for both the lawyer and the student.
Every student in 8GA in Massachusetts is paired with a volunteer from Boston’s legal community who acts as their mentor and writing coach. The students’ final work is celebrated in a high-quality, keepsake magazine called Bridging Magazine. And on Tuesday, May 17, Citizen Schools held the launch party for the tenth annual edition of Bridging, bringing together students and their families, coaches, and staff of the program for an emotional look at all they had accomplished.
The event opened with this five-minute video of current 8th graders paying tribute to their writing coaches:
High school junior Georgina Alvarado was the emcee for the evening, and she added her shout-out to Susan Prosnitz, now Executive Director of the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service at Suffolk University. Susan motivated her to boost her middle school grades to straight As, and three years later she still emails feedback on her writing assignments.
Dan Goldsbury, manager of 8th Grade Academy, next asked all the coaches to stand and be recognized–to thunderous applause. Then he asked coaches who had taught for at least two years to stay standing, then three years, and so on, all the way up to nine years. Citizen Schools Teaching Fellow Jennifer Scherk, who assisted in the magazine’s publication this year, was amazed at their commitment:
“These coaches have been volunteering longer than most (if not all) Citizen Schools volunteers, and have really been with 8GA and the writing program since its infancy. Some of these coaches began volunteering when our 8th graders began kindergarten!”
The keynote speaker was John Werner, Citizen Schools’ Chief Mobilizing Officer, whose vision started 8th Grade Academy ten years ago. After helping to develop Citizen Schools’ after-school program, he noticed that some students weren’t living up to their potential as they moved into high school. He assembled a team to identify the key factors that could change their trajectory, and zeroed in on bridging the gap between 8th and 9th grade.
The result was a kind of Citizen Schools spin-off. John called it an “action tank,” a place to experiment and innovate in real time. Pulling 8th graders from all over Boston into a single space after school and on weekends, specialized staff provided one-on-one mentorship focused on looking ahead to college and beyond. College visits, research projects about Boston high schools and the school choice process, and an alumni engagement program encouraged them to develop as leaders and advocate for themselves.
Anna from the Dever-McCormack School was also a speaker. Here she is with Matthew Terry, a coach coordinator from Ropes & Gray LLP
And in place of some of the apprenticeships they had experienced in Citizen Schools in 6th and 7th grade, 8GA featured a writing boot camp led by volunteer lawyers from dozens of firms. Students met with their writing coaches twice a month for an hour and a half. Together, the pairs worked on persuasive articles, creative writing, and even the application essays that students use to get into high school–all of which are now bound for posterity in the beautifully produced magazine.
Inside the cover of this year’s Bridging Magazine is a collage of all the covers from the past nine years of the program–a visual reminder of 8GA’s impact on Boston’s young people and on the legal community. Over 1,000 students have participated here. And today, thanks to the support of Fidelity Investments, Lead National Partner for 8th Grade Academy, 8GA has been integrated into Citizen Schools core program model across the country, and its innovations benefit 6th and 7th graders too in the form of a College to Career Connection curriculum. But the alumni of 8GA in Boston will always have a unique set of friendships and memories–and their own periodical to cherish.
Has 8GA built a bridge in your life? Share your memories here!
