2016-17 AmeriCorps Promise Fellow

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Title: AmeriCorps Promise Fellow

Placement Site: Sojourner Truth Academy, 3820 Emerson Ave N. Minneapolis, MN 55412

Contact: Laverne Wesley, lwesley@sojournertruthacademy.org, 612-588-3599

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW

Each year over 10,000 youth in Minnesota drop out of school, and Minnesota’s academic achievement gap has grown to be one of the largest in the nation. To address this challenge, Minnesota Alliance With Youth (the Alliance) works to support and invest in schools and communities looking to improve graduation rates. In particular, the Alliance enlists and supports AmeriCorps Promise Fellows at host schools and organizations across the state to promote positive youth outcomes and close the achievement and opportunity gaps, including graduation for all. Promise Fellows serve at their host sites, while working with Alliance Trainers and staff for support and guidance in order to fulfill their service through AmeriCorps.

Sojourner Truth Academy (STA) is a PreK - 8 th grade charter school, serving 396 students from the North Minneapolis neighborhood and suburbs. Our middle school program operates within a community that has an unacceptable high school drop out rate, impacting a majority of our African-American and Latino students. STA’s mission is to prepare children for the future by building self-confidence and a strong sense of self-worth through small classrooms and an open, safe and family-like environment.

POSITION BACKGROUND

Promise Fellows tackle issues of educational equity by providing resources to increase high school graduation rates at schools across Minnesota. The Fellows serve at least 30 youth in grades 6-8 in communities that have the highest annual dropout rates and middle schools that feed into those high schools. Each Promise Fellow works with a site supervisor, data coach, and a youth success team comprised of supervisors, school social workers, and other school personnel to analyze data, make referrals, identify youth who need support, and connect the youth to resources and programs that will engage them in school and learning. This role ensures that youth receive access to caring adults, service and leadership opportunities, and high quality in and out of school support. The goal of the Fellow’s service is to build relationships with youth and support them to engage in school.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES

Essential Functions: Promise Fellows will support and deliver a variety of activities to support students. These activities include:

• Build and foster strong relationships with their selected students.
• Coordinate and deliver in and out of school time academic enrichment activities with the goal that at least 30 youth in grades 6-8 will experience academic gains.
• Meet regularly with Youth Success Team to review data and identify youth to serve; track student progress; and determine which interventions to connect to individual students or groups of students.
• Develop and organize projects that engage youth participants in service and leadership activities.
• Recruit and/or support community volunteers, including family members, to work with youth participants in areas such as mentoring, tutoring, civic engagement, and college/career exploration.
• Provide attendance and behavior coaching for students targeted for needing assistance as determined through the multi-tiered system of support approach; promote positive behavior expectations.
• Maintain program records, complete ongoing youth assessments and submit weekly and monthly reports using an online database system with support from site supervisor and site coordinator.
• Develop and execute a professional plan for the service year and life after AmeriCorps

• Participate in all required Alliance, AmeriCorps, and Host Site meetings and assignments.

MARGINAL FUNCTIONS:

• Support teachers and other school and community members to determine the best local dropout prevention strategies, including how community volunteers will help address the needs of the targeted youth.
• Organize field trips and other special events to make learning and being at school more engaging and relevant to youth who are disengaged and at risk of dropping out.

• Attend required staff development on-site at STA.
• Participate in all Alliance and AmeriCorps required meetings and assignments.
• Assist in the implementation of various family service events throughout the school year

TYPICAL WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Supportive work environment amongst dedicated educators
• Both standing and sitting within middle school classrooms
• Able to work sitting at a computer for up to 8 hours a day to manage program information
• A fast-paced environment requiring giving attention to multiple scholar needs simultaneously
• Able to work independently as well as on teams, both in leadership and support positions
• Both on and off-site activities geared towards student civic engagement and academic activities
• Shared workspace with personal computer and on-site resources
• Reasonable accommodations provided upon request

PLEASE NOTE:

• We are committed to recruiting and engaging individuals without regard to disability, gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation.
• This position may not displace another employee or position in any way.

• Reasonable accommodations provided upon request for interviews and service activities.
• This document is available in alternative formats.

REQUIREMENTS

• Must be at least 18 years old*
• Have a high school diploma or GED
• Be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. National or have status as a Lawful Permanent Resident Alien
• Please note that final candidates will be required to successfully pass background checks before being officially enrolled by Minnesota Alliance With Youth.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Interest in youth, service, education, and non-profit work
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Ability to deal effectively with a variety of tasks, priorities, and people in order to meet goals
• Ability to work effectively with people of a variety of backgrounds and cultures
• Self-motivated, able to work in a team, take initiative and work independently
• Able to present oneself in a highly professional manner and be an ambassador of the program
• Multicultural experience and a proven ability to work with diverse populations
• Ability to provide academic support at the middle school level in the areas of math and reading
• Promise Fellows may NOT be in school full-time or have another full-time position and serve with the Alliance; Promise Fellows must serve in a full time capacity for a minimum of 40 hours per week during their term of service.

DESIRABLE CHARACTERISTICS

• Associates Degree or Bachelor of Arts Degree in community or youth development, education, or related field

• Volunteer experience and desire to develop a strong ethic of service
• Experience working collaboratively with youth and adults
• Commitment to positive youth development
• Has initiative to see and follow through with "next steps" to be taken
• A "whatever it takes" attitude to help our scholars succeed!

BENEFITS

As a full-time AmeriCorps member, Promise Fellows serve 1720 hours (minimum) from September 1 st to July 31 st and receive: Modest Living Allowance (approximately $569 twice per month, pre-tax); Health and Dental Insurance; Qualified Student Loan Forbearance; Qualified Childcare Assistance; $5,775 Education Award upon successful completion of service; Ongoing, extensive support and training.

TO APPLY: Please visit https://mnyouth.net/to complete the AmeriCorps Promise Fellow online application and email/mail/fax cover letter, resume, and three references along with the Alliance’s application to:
Laverne Wesley

Sojourner Truth Academy

3820 Emerson Ave. N.

Minneapolis, MN

lwesley@sojournertruthacademy.org

Fax: 612 588-3599