About the Opportunity

826 Boston seeks mission-driven change-makers to join the 826 Boston AmeriCorps Fellowship for the 2023-2024 school year. This is an exciting opportunity to join a cohort of 16 AmeriCorps members and play a key role in driving impact to serve more students in the Boston Public Schools through 826 Boston’s innovative In-School and Writers’ Room Programs.

Serving as an AmeriCorps High School Program Specialist in the Writers’ Room Fellowship is a challenging yet rewarding experience. 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 High School Program Specialists will serve at one of the following 826 Boston Writers’ Rooms for the year, joining a school-based team comprising the Writers’ Room Manager, two AmeriCorps High School Program Specialists, and a corps of interns and volunteers. 826 Boston runs Writers’ Rooms at the following high schools:

• John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science, 55 Malcolm X Boulevard, Roxbury
• Jeremiah E. Burke High School, 60 Washington Street, Dorchester
• Boston International Newcomers Academy, 100 Maxwell Street, Dorchester

Members will be placed at a site by the 826 Boston team and will serve from that location Mondays-Thursdays. Additionally, AmeriCorps High School Program Specialists will serve either at 826 Boston’s writing and tutoring center at 3035 Washington Street, Roxbury for summer training and weekly professional development sessions or remotely on Fridays. The Writers’ Room Fellowship is an 11-month service program beginning on Monday, August 14, 2023.

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.

826 Boston provides reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities at every stage of the application process. Disclosing a disability or requesting a need for accommodations is a separate process from admissions and will have absolutely no bearing on a candidate’s application status. 826 Boston will make every effort to meet your request, but specific requests are not guaranteed. If you need to request an accommodation, please contact our Human Resources Manager Catherine Gomez at Catherine@826Boston.org.

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 daily in-person as a writing tutor to students seeking support with writing assignments in 826 Boston Writers’ Rooms through class visits, individual drop-ins, writing workshops, and publication projects
• Support 11th- and 12th-grade students in writing college essays/personal statements through a series of College Essay Boot Camp programs
• Co-lead the 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 after-school projects with students, such as a school-wide literary magazine, yearbook club, slam poetry team, and/or journalism club

Writers’ Room Program Coordination

• Coordinate Writers’ Room volunteers, including managing email communication, tracking volunteer hours, 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, and participating in quarterly team-wide reports
• 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
• Interest in teaching/tutoring writing to students grades 7-12 in an urban setting
• Commitment to the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives
• 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
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Proficiency in organizational, time management, project management, and resource management skills
• Experience with journalism, creative writing, or book publishing preferred
• Proficiency in Cape Verdean Creole, Haitian Creole, Arabic, or Spanish preferred, but not required
• Proficiency in Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, or Illustrator preferred, but not required

• Familiarity with the Boston Public Schools system, particularly the schools in Roxbury, Dorchester, and Jamaica Plain preferred, but not required

Compensation and Benefits

• Professional Development: As an AmeriCorps High School 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 direct supervisor.
• Living Stipend: AmeriCorps High School Program Specialists will receive a gross bi-weekly stipend of $989, totaling a minimum of $23,750 annually
• Education Award: As an AmeriCorps Member, High School 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 $6,895.00.

Additional Benefits:

• Travel Stipend: $100/month travel stipend for months of active service
• Medical Coverage: AmeriCorps members have the opportunity to apply for the Corps Network Health Plan but may decline it in favor of alternative coverage obtained through a parent, guardian, or spouse.
• Time Off: 80 hours time off + 9 holidays off + 1 week winter break.
• Public Benefits: AmeriCorps Members may be eligible for food and public utility benefits.

About 826 Boston

826 Boston is a nonprofit writing, tutoring, and publishing organization where students in grades K-12 and beyond can share their stories, amplify their voices, and develop as leaders 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 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 29,000 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 2013, the 826 National network garnered the prestigious American Literacy Prize awarded by the Library of Congress.