Lake Zurich teacher receives President's Volunteer Service Award

Each year, the President of the United States recognizes volunteers throughout the country with the President's Volunteer Service Awards. Cindy Gabriel of Lake Zurich is among this year's gold award honorees. She is being recognized for her work as a Citizen Teacher with the national nonprofit Citizen Schools. These individuals spend several hours each week sharing their expertise in their respective fields with middle school students in low-income communities as a way to help close the opportunity gap between these students and their counterparts in more affluent communities.

Citizen Teachers introduce students to engaging opportunities and diverse careers through 10-week apprenticeship programs. During the 2015-16 school year, over 2,300 Citizen Teachers taught more than 1,000 apprenticeships, affecting over 5,300 students across Citizen Schools' network.

Gold and silver award level honorees show a significant commitment to service. Gold level recipients taught in each of the past four semesters, and silver level honorees taught three of the past four semesters.

Across the country, 67 Citizen Teachers were recognized at the gold level and 83 at the silver level.

"Our gold and silver level Presidential Service Award Winners are all talented and dedicated volunteers who embody what Citizen Schools mission is all about," Citizen Schools CEO Emily McCann said. "Not only do we congratulate them for this recognition, we also thank them for their commitment and passion they bring to the classrooms they serve."

Citizen Schools is a national nonprofit organization that partners with middle schools to expand the learning day for children in low-income communities. Citizen Schools mobilizes a team of AmeriCorps educators and volunteer Citizen Teachers to teach real-world learning projects and provide academic support in order to help all students discover and achieve their dreams. For more information, visit www.citizenschools.org.