Summer Camp 2024 Lead Teacher

Job Description: Acera seeks a dynamic, motivated, and dedicated professional to create & lead learning experiences for elementary, middle, and/or high school Summer Campers. Our 2024 Summer Camp runs for 10 weeks, from June 10 to Aug 23, skipping the week of July 4th - camp teachers will teach for at least 4 weeks. We seek a professional who has a deep love of and respect for children. The ideal candidate will be creative, flexible, collaborative, organized, and able to thoughtfully plan ahead. Classes are capped at 8-12 students.

The right candidate will be patient and flexible to adapt approaches to fit with kids’ learning styles and interests, while also (of course) prioritizing safety and students’ stewardship habits and self management in workspaces, including classrooms and/or our windowed and sunny large Innovation Lab. Additionally, the right educator for this position will have a commitment to students growth over a focus on “perfection” and be personally aligned with our core values and learning approach, as outlined on our website: www.aceraschool.org

The expectations for this position are:

• Create half-day, week-long curricula with guidance from Enrichment Programs Manager, leveraging essential questions as a springboard for inventing interdisciplinary, project based learning.
• Deliver curricula for a minimum of 4 half-day, Monday-to-Friday camp sessions, between June 10 and August 23.
• Camp hours are as follows: 8:30-9:00 set up, 9:00-12:00 camp (incl. 30 min recess), 12:00-1:00 lunch/recess (teachers have lunch/recess duty for half, and lunch break other half), 1:00-4:00 camp (incl. 30 min recess).
• Additional paid duties may be available to add on, such as early drop off (8:00-8:30) and late pickup (4:00-6:00).
• Manage & leverage assistant teachers in the case of large classes or classes for younger learners.
• Apply an eclectic blend of learning pedagogy, including teaching for understanding, multi age, Montessori, thematic and interdisciplinary, experiential, and STEAM oriented.
• Sequence camp activities to thoughtfully plan for community & relationship building, physical movement/activity, a diversity of modalities/media, and age-appropriate lesson “chunks” to fit students’ attention spans.
• Use a teacher-as-facilitator style. This is not a traditional “in charge teacher who dispenses knowledge” approach. Our teachers serve as facilitators who enable student learning in a way customized for student abilities and interests.
• Curate materials for the sessions, demonstrate responsibility and care in shared Innovation Lab space, and carefully plan material use to operate within program budgets.

Overview: Acera is a K­-11 hands­-on learning STEAM school that provides students with unbounded access to learning. At Acera, students learn, discover and explore at a pace appropriate to each student’s unique motivation and potential, not their age. Our culture is not about pressure to achieve; it is about freedom to thrive. We support our students’ innate curiosity and love of learning with an inter­disciplinary, hands-­on learning approach. Through developing emotional intelligence, complex and creative thinking skills, and systems awareness, we develop thinkers and innovators who will be able to make positive change in our world. Acera teachers function as entrepreneurs in their classrooms, and are deeply talented and share ideas to support each other as professionals.

Acera Vision: We envision a world in which schools engage students in meaningful learning, in which teachers are freed as entrepreneurs in their classrooms, and in which students can become the best version of themselves, given each students’ unique capacities, needs, and passions. The Acera school day program provides students with unbounded access to learning, offering high capacity students opportunity according to their ability, not age. Acera’s enrichment programs (after school, summer, and vacation week camps) are open to the public, and our Education Innovation efforts are actively engaging in public school projects to support educational change. We also partner with organizations beyond our walls, creating programs rich in sciences, technology, engineering, creativity and arts. We operate both as a lab school and a microcosm of what is possible for other schools. We seek to grow students’ emotional intelligence and enable them to become the best version of themselves. Our mission, across our core school day program, enrichment programs and within our partnerships, is to develop the next generation of innovators, leaders and creative thinkers who can make a positive impact in the world.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree
• At least 2 years teaching experience
• Highly preferred: Experience with gifted education, special education, progressive learning approaches and a goal for understanding orientation (instead of a focus on core knowledge acquisition).
• Highly preferred: Experience with a range of technical (coding in Scratch, 3D printing, etc.) and/or non-technical (sewing, crafting, sculpting, etc.) skills.
• Highly organized, able to steward workspaces with great care, to leave a ready-­to-­go, predictable space for others
• Experience setting norms to prioritize student safety
• Deep care for student growth, happiness and authentic engagement
• Flexible and adaptable for changes and surprises; able to cope with vibrant, busy environment
• Collaborative working style with colleagues and students alike
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills

Equal Opportunity Employer
Acera is committed to maintaining a work and learning environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender, sexual orientation, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation or disability as defined and required by state and federal laws.

Conditions of Offer: All offers of employment are contingent upon CORI, SORI and fingerprint-based background checks, as required by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Under the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), our company is required to verify the identity and work authorization of all newly hired employees. Therefore, if you accept this position, you will be required to complete a Form I-9 upon hire. Within 3 days of beginning employment, you will need to supply acceptable documentation days of beginning employment, you will need to supply acceptable documentation (as noted on the Form I-9) of your identity and work authorization.

Job Type: Part-time

Pay: $28.00 - $35.00 per hour

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Afternoon shift
• Monday to Friday
• Morning shift

Work Location: In person