826 Boston seeks mission-driven change-makers to join the Writers’ Room Fellowship as AmeriCorps Members for the 2020-2021 school year. 826 Boston is rapidly expanding to serve more students in the Boston Public Schools through its innovative Writers’ Room Program. This is an exciting opportunity to join 15 AmeriCorps members and play a key role in driving impact.
Serving as an AmeriCorps K-8 Program Specialist in the Writers’ Room Fellowship is a challenging yet rewarding experience. Your role is designed to affect individual students and school-wide systems. Through your year of service, you will work with students to empower them to find their voices, tell their stories, and gain critical communication skills while also supporting tutors and teachers to meaningfully incorporate writing into curricula across all grades and content areas.
AmeriCorps K-8 Program Specialists will serve at one 826 Boston Writers’ Rooms for the year, joining a school-based team comprising the Writers’ Room Coordinator, two AmeriCorps K–8 Program Specialists, a College for Social Innovation Fellow, and a corps of volunteers. 826 Boston operates Writers’ Rooms at the following K–8 schools:
- Boston Teachers Union K–8 Pilot School, 25 Walk Hill Street, Jamaica Plain
- Rafael Hernández Two-Way Bilingual K–8 School, 61 School Street, Roxbury
Members will be placed at a site by the 826 Boston team and will serve from that location Mondays-Thursdays. Additionally, AmeriCorps K-8 Program Specialists will serve at 826 Boston’s writing and tutoring center at 3035 Washington Street, Roxbury, for summer training and weekly professional development sessions on Fridays. The Writers’ Room Fellowship is an 11-month service program beginning on Monday, August 3, 2020.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Reasonable accommodations will be considered for interviews and throughout the term of service upon request.
The AmeriCorps Writers' Room Fellowship program is dependent on a yearly funding award from the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Key Responsibilities and Functions:
Tutoring Students:
- Serve as a writing tutor to students in grades K–8 seeking support with writing assignments in a 826 Boston Writers’ Room through class visits, individual drop-ins, writing workshops, and publication projects
- Support students’ writing development through one-on-one conferences, small-group collaboration, and whole-class instruction leading reading and writing workshops
- Co-lead Student Editorial Board for each in-house publication project, ensuring students have the opportunity to inform book content, cover and interior design, and title selection
- Co-lead creative writing projects with students, such as a school-wide literary magazine, slam poetry team, and/or journalism club
Program Coordination:
- Coordinate Writers’ Room volunteers, including managing email communication and co-leading pre-brief and debrief sessions
- Assist with data collection, analysis, and results-sharing associated with Writers’ Room in-school and after-school programming, including tracking student visits and hours, distributing student and teacher feedback surveys, supporting the multi-year Northeastern University Writers’ Room impact study, and participating in quarterly team-wide reports
- In conjunction with Writers’ Room Coordinator, collaborate with Boston Public Schools teachers across all disciplines to develop in-class writing projects that utilize the Writers’ Room tutor support and in-house publication capabilities
- Support Writers’ Room publishing projects and book release parties
- Communicate project progress to staff supervisor and seek counsel when help is needed to execute goals
- Support school-organized student and family-focused events as needed, representing the 826 Boston Writers’ Room
Qualifications:
- High school diploma
- Experience working with young people
- Interest in teaching/tutoring writing to students grades K–8 in an urban setting
- Ability to coach and mentor volunteers and interns
- Ability to adapt to various working and management styles
- Ability to participate in open communication to build community and foster team goals including the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Proficiency in organizational, time management, project management, and resource management skills
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Apps
- Experience with journalism, creative writing, or book publishing preferred
- Proficiency in Adobe, InDesign, Photoshop, or Illustrator preferred
- Proficiency in Spanish may be required depending on placement
- Familiarity with the Boston Public Schools system, particularly the schools in Roxbury, Dorchester, and Jamaica Plain preferred
Compensation and Benefits:
- Professional Development: As an AmeriCorps K–8 Program Specialist, you will build upon your personal strengths and develop transferable skills, such as teamwork, leadership, decision-making, project management and relationship development. Further, you will develop your knowledge of public school systems, school and community partnerships, and the day-to-day operations of a nonprofit organization. 826 Boston provides AmeriCorps Members with formal onboarding in the summer, ongoing training throughout the year, and individualized coaching from a direct supervisor.
- Living Stipend: AmeriCorps K–8 Program Specialists will receive a gross bi-weekly stipend of $625, totaling a maximum of $15,000 annually.
- Education Award: As an AmeriCorps Member, K–8 Program Specialists qualify for an Eli Segal Education Award for every successful year of service, which includes completing 1,700 hours of service and completing the full duration of the 11-month program. The education award can be used to repay student loans or cover tuition costs for graduate studies at an accredited college or university and will amount to at least $6,195.00.
- Travel Stipend: $70/month travel stipend for months of active service
- Medical Coverage: AmeriCorps members have the opportunity to request reimbursement of up to $50/month to cover individual health coverage premiums. All AmeriCorps members are eligible for this reimbursement but may decline it in favor of alternative coverage obtained through a parent, guardian, or spouse.
- Time Off: 40 hours of time off + 9 holidays off + 2 weeks winter break set by 826 Boston
- Public Benefits: AmeriCorps Members may be eligible for food and public utility benefits
For more information and to apply, visit https://826boston.org/get-involved/join-our-team/.
About 826 Boston
826 Boston is a nonprofit youth writing and publishing organization located in Roxbury, Massachusetts, that empowers traditionally underserved students ages 6-18 to find their voices, tell their stories, and gain communication skills to succeed in school and in life. Our high-impact programs are based on the understanding that great leaps in learning can occur with individualized attention, and that writing skills are fundamental to future success.
826 Boston is part of a national network of youth writing centers, founded by the award-winning author Dave Eggers and the educator Nínive Calegari, which was voted one of the top 30 companies to work for by Good Magazine. Since opening in 2007, 826 Boston has delivered its free youth writing and tutoring programs to more than 25,000 students and has been recognized by The Boston Globe as one of the best places in the city to volunteer. 826 Boston’s youth writers have published their work in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and in numerous award-winning 826 Boston books, including A Place for Me in the World, which was hailed as a “triumph of middle school education” by The Boston Globe. In 2014, the 826 network garnered the American Literacy Prize from the Library of Congress for its pioneering work to eradicate illiteracy in the United States.