Citizen Schools is an apprenticeship program offered outside school hours that seeks to build students' academic and leadership skills by connecting them with professionals from various fields. Launched in Boston in 1994, the program targets what some say is an underserved population in after-school education--middle school students--through a highly structured blend of academic tutoring and mentoring. Citizen Schools has grown steadily over the years. It now serves 2,000 students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, the vast majority from disadvantaged backgrounds, in 30 schools and five states. Youths spend an average of 400 hours a year, taking part in projects, activities, and academic tutoring led by doctors, lawyers, architects, chefs, artists, and many others, who try to inspire them to think about college and careers of their own. The program has also broadened its training beyond students. In 2003, Citizen Schools established a master's-degree program in education, with a specialty in out-of-school education, with Lesley University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. According to a recent study, the model improves the reading and mathematics test scores and the grades of the students participating. Grade-to-grade promotion and attendance rates also improved, as well as performance in high school.