Reading Partners AmeriCorps Member (2021)

Twin Cities, MN

Reading Partners is changing the education landscape. We are a leader in working to solve the literacy crisis in our country by leveraging community volunteers and AmeriCorps service members in under-resourced elementary schools. Our dedicated and expansive volunteer base provides one-on-one tutoring to students twice weekly, and our program is proven to help children master the reading fundamentals they need to unlock their potential as successful and confident readers in school and in life. Our people are the heart and soul of our organization, and our greatest resource; we are all passionately rallied around our mission to help children become lifelong learners by empowering communities to provide individualized instruction that works. Join our stellar team leading the charge to deepen our impact and expand our service. Learn more about us at www.readingpartners.org.

AmeriCorps engages more than 80,000 Americans in intensive service each year at nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community and faith-based groups across the country. Since the program’s founding in 1994, over 1 million AmeriCorps members have contributed more than 1.4 billion hours in service across America while tackling pressing problems and mobilizing more than 2.3 million volunteers for the organizations they serve.

At Reading Partners we have to mobilize 350 full-time AmeriCorps and VISTA members to serve in various positions across the country.  This AmeriCorps service opportunity is school-based supporting and implementing the Reading Partners mission while at the same time exemplifying the AmeriCorps motto of “getting things done.” Reading Partners strives to recruit AmeriCorps members dedicated to a year of service in the community. 

The Roles

Interested in direct service in one or multiple elementary schools? Check out our school-based AmeriCorps opportunities below!

The AmeriCorps Site Coordinator is the face of Reading Partners within our reading centers in elementary schools, leading the full-time program coordination, operations, and relationship development at their school. This is an exciting opportunity to serve directly with kids, coach volunteers, build partnerships with faculty and staff, and gain hands-on-experience with a literacy program that works!    

What you’ll do & how you’ll do it:

Program implementation - Coordinate the day-to-day operations of Reading Partners’ program at a partner school to ensure the Reading Partners’ program and curriculum meet students’ learning needs.  

• Leading program implementation is a huge responsibility! As the head of a reading center, Site Coordinators demonstrate a strong understanding of our program and can effectively coach volunteer tutors through the curriculum. Superb organizational skills are paramount in meeting student enrollment goals (an average of 40-80 students), coordinating constantly changing schedules, managing accurate student and tutor data records, and tracking student progress through regular assessments. Site Coordinators also serve directly with students to provide ongoing tutoring throughout the year.

Relationship management & communication - Forge and maintain positive relationships within the school community to create a welcoming environment for students, volunteer tutors, faculty, and staff.

• Fostering relationships within the school community is a key component of a Site Coordinator’s success. Site Coordinators demonstrate an aptitude for communication, adapting their communication styles to best suit the needs of students, volunteer tutors, Reading Partners colleagues, and school-based faculty/staff. The ability to motivate kids in their learning and to manage their behavior is a significant responsibility, as is the ability to train, guide, and give feedback to volunteer tutors.

The AmeriCorps Distance Tutoring Coordinator plays a critical role in our school-based team within the region. In response to Covid-19, Reading Partners will implement a distance tutoring program, for which the AmeriCorps Distance Tutoring Coordinator will work in collaboration with the Site Coordinator as a team to deliver the program.  This role will co-lead, with the Site Coordinator, all student support services to ensure their success in the program. The Distance Tutoring Coordinator also serves as the lead logistical and family, student, and volunteer engagement support, ensuring all parties are equipped to attend and successfully complete their sessions. They accomplish this by coordinating and coaching tutors, coordinating and supporting families, observing distance tutoring sessions for student needs, and maintaining data systems related to distance tutoring in collaboration with AmeriCorps Site Coordinators. This is an exciting new role that supports new programming created in response to Covid-19 and is an opportunity to serve and get involved in a literacy program that works! Our Distance Tutoring Coordinators are ambassadors for service, demonstrate strong leadership skills, and strongly believe in our vision and values.       

What you’ll do & how you’ll do it:

Program Implementation & Support

Co-lead student support, lead family and volunteer logistic support. This is accomplished through collaboration with AmeriCorps Site Coordinators to implement the Reading Partners program at a portfolio of partner school sites, ensuring that all students and tutors receive support to meet their session needs in distance tutoring.

• The Distance Tutoring Coordinator is an extension of the greater Reading Partners team. In serving multiple school sites, Distance Tutoring Coordinators must develop a strong understanding of our curriculum and how to implement using our remote tutoring system to support tutors and families.   They will be trained to become our technology experts to support student and volunteer success. This knowledge is key to ensuring students and tutors have successful distance tutoring sessions in order to meet student growth outcome goals. Distance Tutoring Coordinators focus on providing additional targeted tutoring support to students and coaching to volunteer tutors to improve program quality. 

Relationship Management & Communication

Forge and maintain positive relationships with student families, tutors, and with AmeriCorps peers to create welcoming environments for students, caregivers, and volunteer tutors.

• Strong relationships are a cornerstone of the Distance Tutoring Coordinator’s success. Because Distance Tutoring Coordinators interact with a significant number of students, families, volunteer tutors, and Reading Partners staff across the region, the ability to foster trust and positive relationships is a must. The aptitude to guide and give feedback to volunteer tutors is critical, as is the ability to identify student and tutor trends throughout individual school sites. 

Additional Information

• Except when under shelter in place orders or if schools/offices are otherwise closed to Reading Partners, the essential functions of this role are performed in schools and/or in designated locations where programming may be delivered, such as a Reading Partners regional office, or another Reading Partners approved location where volunteers may be convened to tutor students using our remote tutoring system.
• Due to the changing nature of serving in public education AmeriCorps members may, at any time, be asked to transition to another Reading Partners AmeriCorps position.
• In the event of a local, state, or federal disaster declaration, AmeriCorps members may be asked on a volunteer basis or be required by CNCS (the federal agency that administers the AmeriCorps program) or our state AmeriCorps commission to activate to assist in disaster response and recovery activities within their communities.  This may involve virtual service opportunities or in-person service opportunities. This may include service opportunities outside of the member’s standard service hours or in place of their standard service duties. 

About You!

You’ll be successful in this role if you:

• Are dedicated to national and community service
• Understand this position is an AmeriCorps service commitment and are dedicated to successfully completing a full term term of service.
• Demonstrate a passion for working with children
• Possess a natural ability to connect with people
• Are eager for a dynamic schedule
• Pay strong attention to detail and manage competing priorities effectively
• Boast a deep belief in and passionately promote our mission
• Demonstrate a love for relationship building and public speaking
• Have flexibility and adaptability in both work style and work environment  
• Take initiative in meeting goals and seeking professional growth
• Can problem-solve through challenges and failures
• Can quickly learn new technology systems like Salesforce, and have a high level of comfort with Microsoft Office and Google Apps
• Root your work in our core values
• Possess a high school diploma or GED
• Hold US Citizenship or Permanent Resident Status
• Have not completed more than three (3) prior AmeriCorps or VISTA service terms

Bonus Points if you:

• Are an AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and other national service alum/alumna
• Have experience volunteering with other community-based or education programs

What we offer:

• AmeriCorps members earn an annual living stipend of $9,428 and $10,285 (dependent upon start date)
• AmeriCorps members are eligible for medical, dental, and vision coverage at no cost for our members; childcare assistance is available through AmeriCorps for those who qualify.
• AmeriCorps members can earn an education award of $3,097.50 after successfully completing their service term.
• You may be eligible for student loan forbearance on federal student loans.
• We offer an exciting and dynamic culture, and we commit to investing in and supporting our amazing people to grow their careers with us. As such, we provide ongoing professional development opportunities.

The other things you need to know:

• Service Terms:  AmeriCorps members serve full-time (approximately 40 hours/week) from January or February 2021 through June or July 2021, and must commit to a service term of 900+ hours over a 6-month period. 
• Travel: AmeriCorps members regularly travel to school sites throughout the week, and need access to reliable transportation on a daily basis. AmeriCorps members also make occasional trips to regional offices and service day events.

We look forward to hearing from you!

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Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Position will remain posted until filled. No phone inquiries.