Dear group, My friend Sam sent me this invitation, and asked me to forward it to the group. I plan on attending. Please forward this to other groups that you may be affiliated with or other members of the science community that you know. Many of my friends volunteer for Citizen Schools, and they all tell me that it is an excellent program to help get middle school students interested in academics. There is also a Facebook event<http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=100491599857>listing if you feel so inclined. -Ari ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Sam Novey &lt;snovey(a)gmail.com&gt; Date: Wed, Jul 8, 2009 at 5:52 PM Subject: Citizen Schools’ Dinner Conference on Science Education To: Ari Gold-Parker &lt;virtueoftheabsurd(a)gmail.com&gt; Citizen Schools’ Dinner Conference on Science Education, Harvard University, Northwest Science Labs On July 21st - 6-9 pm, we are uniting a unique group of professors, students and business community members for an exchange of ideas, camaraderie, and a deeper belief in the power of science. It will be an ideal environment with great food and an interactive brainstorming program to try and figure out the best ways to share the wonder of science with innercity middle school students and help turn them onto science. It will take place at Harvard University, Northwest Labs. We would love to have you join us. We need the perspective of passionate leaders, like you, who have pursued careers in the sciences and know universities in order to build a model for science education that we can spread to our network of afterschool programs in low income communities in Massachusetts and across the nation. What: A fun evening of Brainstorming on Science Education (dinner included) When: Tuesday, July 21, 2009. 6pm – 9pm Where: Northwest Science Labs, Harvard University Questions to be discussed: - How did you first get excited about science? - What experiments did you do as a kid that were most exciting to you? And why? - What are the best ways to partner with universities? Reasons to come: - Help shape a model for science education that will be rolled out nationwide. - Meet interesting people who come from all different science fields. - A fun evening to step back, eat pizza, and brainstorm with interesting people from diverse science backgrounds. RSVP: Please email by 07/17/09 Sam Novey ’11 at samnovey(a)citizenschools.org or Emily Harburg ’11 at emilyharburg(a)citizenschools.org DID YOU KNOW…? - The government has spent billions of dollars trying to address the middle school and high school science education crisis and has gotten negligible results, especially in low income communities. -We need to develop excellent, scalable models for science education that work. -There only 110,000 science teachers in the United States but over 5 million professional scientists and science focused students. We see huge opportunities in this untapped pool of science experts but we don’t know who to engage or how to engage them. Citizen Schools can be a part of the solution. In our apprenticeship program, real-world experts from the community volunteer to teach 11-week, hands-on courses that introduce students to their hobbies and professions, providing the authenticity and credibility that middle school students crave. WHAT IS CITIZEN SCHOOLS? Citizen Schools partners with middle schools to expand the learning day for low-income children across the country. Since 1995, students at Citizen Schools have developed the academic and leadership skills they need to succeed in high school, college, the workplace, and civic life. At 44 campuses in seven states, serving 3,800 students and engaging 3,200 volunteers, we mobilize a second shift of afternoon educators, who provide academic support, leadership development, and apprenticeships: hands-on projects taught by volunteer experts. Citizen Schools is at the forefront of a movement to educate children, strengthen communities, and increase access to the American Dream. Sam Novey Class of 2011 (c) 410-903-6911 sbnovey(a)fas.harvard.edu "If we don't fight hard enough for the things we stand for, at some point we have to recognize that we don't really stand for them." --Paul Wellstone