College Admissions Writing Instructor (Spring 2024)

Title:College Admissions Writing Instructor
FLSA: Part-time, Seasonal
Department: HS Scholars, San Francisco
Reports To: Manager of Teaching & Learning
Compensation: $50 (Hourly)
Location: Hybrid (Remote during weekdays, in-person on Saturdays at UC Law campus in San Francisco)
ABOUT SEO SCHOLARS
SEO Scholars is a non-profit focused on improving educational outcomes for students that come from underserved and historically underrepresented backgrounds. Our free eight-year academic program gets low-income public high school students to and through college-with a 100% College Admissions rate and 90% college graduation rate. For 60 years, SEO has been an innovator in education and mentorship programs. We are on a mission to create an ecosystem of excellence in which our students can achieve their full potential.
POSITION OVERVIEW
Writing Instructors will join SEO's community of passionate educators to implement a rigorous college prep curriculum for motivated and driven high school students. Using our original curriculum and a student-centered, anti-oppressive approach to teaching and learning, instructors play an integral part in supporting our Scholars' journeys to a competitive college and beyond. Instructors promote depth of understanding and skill acquisition by serving as a coach and facilitator of learning.
As part of our advising, SEO Scholars supports high school juniors and seniors through the College Admissions Writing process, devoting significant time to developing personal statements, supplemental essays, scholarship essays, and special program essays. Writing Instructors play a crucial role in guiding students through the various challenges and opportunities they will encounter throughout the writing process.
DATES, SCHEDULE, & WEEKLY HOURS
Instructor Orientation:

• [Date TBD]: Tentatively scheduled from 9AM-2PM. More details regarding orientation logistics will be provided when onboarded.
• Spring Saturday Academy: Typically 3 Saturdays a month: exact dates vary based on which grade instructor is placed. Due to our staffing needs and only seeing Scholars once a week, we cannot support more than 2 absences a semester. 11th Grade Saturday Academy Programming is held on campus from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM (PT) on the following Saturdays:
• 12 Saturdays: 1/20, 1/27, 2/3, 2/10, 3/2, 3/9, 3/16, 3/30, 4/20, 4/27, 5/11, 5/18

Schedule:

• Individual teaching schedules will vary within the 9:00 am-4:00 pm instructional time frame.

A typical week may include the following tasks:

• Orientation / Professional Development: Professional development includes a one-day orientation in January, prior to the start of the spring semester, as well as ongoing collaboration with the College Admissions Writing Team and SEO Program Staff.
• Weekday Feedback / Communication: During weekdays, Writing Instructors read, review, and respond to students' drafts via Google Docs; they can also communicate with students via Google Chat to provide encouragement and support.
• Individual Meetings:Writing Instructors are expected to meet with students 1-on-1, either in-person or on Zoom, in order to check in about writing progress, problem-solve around obstacles, and provide live feedback (if students request it). In general, we expect instructors to meet with each scholar about 3-4 times over the course of the semester.
• Saturday Academy: Co-teach two 100-minute College Admissions Writing workshops, with the support of three colleagues.

Weekly Hours:

• Writing Instructors are allotted 10-12 maximum hours per week during their seasonal employment, made up of Standard and Flex Hours. Please note that due to workloads surrounding application deadlines, some weeks may offer additional working hours in order to support all students.
• Standard Hours are when the instructor must be working on site with staff or students instructing a class or engaging with an instructional prep or support period:
  • Saturdays, 9:15am-4:00pm (with a 50-minute lunch) = 6 Hours/week
• Flex Hours make up the additional "instructor work" educators know go into the job. This is time spent preparing for workshops, writing Scholar feedback, communicating with staff and Scholars, and meeting with Scholars during the week. These are hours put in outside of the required schedule and can be completed asynchronously throughout the week = up to6 Flex Hours/weekly

INSTRUCTIONAL CONTENT:

• Writing for Your Quest to College:
• Identifying core values and how they show up in college-admissions essays
• Experimenting with different writing structures to respond to different prompts
• Bringing vulnerability and insight to personal writing through detail
• Using craft moves to bring creativity and personality to personal writing
• Refining writing with micro-editing techniques
• Collaborating with others to build supportive and productive creative spaces!

SITE LOCATIONS:
11th Grade Saturday Academy Programming will take place at our partner site:

• UC Law campus: 200 McAllister St, San Francisco, CA 94102; off the Civic Center BART stop

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
The College Admissions Writing Instructor will support a cohort of 55 high school juniors in completing the Questbridge College Prep Scholars Application, which includes a Personal Statement and Short Answers. As you guide our 11th Grade Scholars in crafting strong and competitive essays, your work responsibilities may include the following:

• Planning / Teaching: Plan and co-facilitate College Admissions Writing workshops to two sections, with approximately 25 students in each class, leveraging effective instructional strategies to increase student access, engagement, and voice.
• Coaching: Provide small-group and individualized advising to help students brainstorm essay topics, develop their thinking, and make progress on their drafts.
• Providing Feedback: Read and submit constructive feedback on students' drafts via Google Docs, focusing on questions, suggestions, and observations that help students develop their writing.
• Refining: Support students in finalizing their writing prior to submission by providing thoughtful comments, grammatical corrections, and content edits.
• Collaboration with SEO Staffand Other Instructors - Plan and work alongside fellow instructors to build optimal experiences for Scholar learning. Collaborate with Scholars' Program Managers to communicate Scholar celebrations and/or concerns to ensure we are supporting the whole student. Attend all scheduled meetings, professional development trainings, check-ins, and debriefs and respond to all emails and Zoom chats in a timely manner.

COMPETENCIES:

• Mission-Driven - Demonstrated dedication to closing the opportunity gap for underserved and underrepresented students and young professionals
• Passionate about Education - A genuine love of working with high school students and a strong belief in rigorous education as a vehicle for societal change
• Student-Centered - Alignment with an instructional philosophy that positions teachers as thinking coaches and facilitators of student learning
• Empathetic - Capacity to recognize and appreciate the lived experience of students while supporting them in reaching their highest potential
• Growth-Oriented - Desire to grow and refine your teaching practice through instructional coaching and professional development opportunities
• Organized & Flexible - Adept at processing and acting upon complex logistical information and demonstrates flexibility when needed
• Conscientious Communicator - Proactive, reliable, and consistent staff partner who articulates ideas clearly and effectively to both adults and students
• Anti-Oppression and Equity Mindedness - Demonstrated commitment to an anti-racist and anti-oppressive teaching and learning framework that engages diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in practice.
• Cultural Responsiveness - Awareness of one's own cultural identity and views about difference, and the ability to learn and build on the varying cultural and community norms of Scholars and their families.
• Cultural Humility - Ability to apply critical reflection, self-awareness, and self-regulation to manage the influence of bias, power, privilege, and values in working with students and colleagues.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Required:
• Minimum of a Bachelor's degree; preferably in English, History, or a writing-intensive field
• Depth of knowledge and experience as a writer, particularly the genres of personal statement and narrative writing
• Comfortable with and skilled at working with and navigating technological learning systems
• Experience working with high school students and engaging them in the writing process (including pre-writing/brainstorming, drafting, revision, publication, and reflection)
• Strong familiarity with or willingness to learn about the college and scholarship application processes
• Proficiency with technology, particularly Zoom and Google Drive (including Track Changes and Comment functions)
• Preferred:
• Secondary Education Degree and Certification
• Knowledge and experience with Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
• Certifications, PD course completions, and/or tertiary education in Instructional Technologies
• Knowledgeable with research-based, culturally responsive, equity-driven, and anti-oppressive instructional practices
• Demonstrated dedication to closing the opportunity gap for underserved and underrepresented students and young professionals

*Teaching certification is not required
The Hiring Process:

• Phase 1: Application Review
• Phase 2: Phone Screening with Talent Acquisitions
• Phase 3: 1 Hour Interview & Demo Lesson on Zoom with the Teaching & Learning team. You will receive an SEO ELA lesson plan for a Demo Lesson. You will navigate a lesson on Zoom using Nearpod, similar to one you would be teaching in-person if given the role.
• Phase 4: Update on Application
• Phase 5: Reference Check and Offer

COMPENSATION
Instructors are compensated on a competitive hourly rate scale that starts at $50/hour. The compensation listed reflects what SEO believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and SEO reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time.
EEOC Policy
At SEO we are committed to cultivating a team that embodies the backgrounds and experiences of the constituencies we serve and the communities we live in, and a workplace that reflects the impact we make in the world. Candidates from historically excluded and underrepresented communities - including people of color, women, members of the LGBTQIA+ Community, veterans, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.
Equal Employment Opportunity is not just the law, it is our commitment.
Sponsors for Educational Opportunity is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer - M/F/D/V. We will consider all qualified applicants for employment regardless of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information or characteristics, or any other legally protected status.
If you need accommodation while applying for a role with SEO, due to a disability, please email SEO Talent .