Middle School Program Instructor – ELA Summer 2024

Organization Overview 

NJ LEEP is a college access and success program for low-income and first-generation students from the greater Newark area. NJ LEEP currently serves middle school students, high school students, college students, and family members. We help students perform at high academic levels by building skills through law-related and other educational programs, developing the habits necessary for college success and community leadership, and offering exposure to colleges, careers, and role models who have achieved professional success. NJ LEEP’s model is challenging and rigorous and prepares NJ LEEP program graduates for success in college. NJ LEEP strives to be a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization. We are committed to anti-racist principles and are actively engaged in the work of those principles, including staff trainings and creating space for dialogue around race and identity for both staff and students. For more information about our work, please go to www.njleep.org. 

Position Overview 

The summer instructors work with middle school students in the NJ LEEP Middle School Program, delivering highly interactive and student-centered lessons. Additionally, all instructors will be responsible for implementing and facilitating our Project-Based Learning curriculums (all lesson plans will be provided), as well as supervising teaching assistants implementing and facilitating our Social-Emotional Learning curriculums. These positions report to NJ LEEP’s Middle School Program Manager. 

The summer instructor positions are seasonal roles. The program runs for six weeks and requires a commitment of 40 hours per week from June 25th to August 2nd (1 week of training and 5 weeks of programming). 

Responsibilities:

• Use provided middle school curriculum to plan and deliver highly engaging lessons for students. Lesson plans, student handouts, and rubrics/grading guidelines will be provided; instructors are responsible for creating course syllabi, customizing lesson plans for their classes/teaching style and documenting their plans and materials.
• Facilitate Project-Based Learning curriculum to ensure development of research and public speaking skills.
• Supervise Teaching Assistants implementing Social-Emotional Learning instruction using the provided curriculum
• Collaborate with fellow instructors to ensure a coherent learning experience for students
• Maintain regular communication with program constituencies including students and their families, and NJ LEEP staff
• Use Google Classroom and Sheets, as well as Gradelink to track and input homework completion, attendance, and assessment information, as well as provide feedback and comments on student work and behavior.
• Suggest revisions for subsequent iterations of middle school curriculum
• Support & supervise non-academic programming as needed

Minimum Qualifications:

• Teacher certification in English Language Arts or Social Studies with a Middle School or Secondary School specialization OR at least 1 year of relevant teaching experience.
• Ability to engage students and teach effectively
• Strong organizational and time management skills
• Must be available on all of the NJ LEEP summer program days without any prior scheduled commitments during the hours of program operation 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working with young people/communities historically marginalized by existing systems, preferably in a middle school setting

Compensation: Compensation for the summer starts at $1000 per week, paid biweekly.    

How to apply: 

Interested applicants should complete an employment application online and follow directions in the application for submitting a resume and cover letter. Applications received by March 18th will receive priority consideration.    

Due to the volume of applications, only applicants selected for an interview will receive a response.    

NJ LEEP is an equal opportunity employer, committed to inclusive hiring and dedicated to diversity in our staff. We strongly encourage candidates from all groups and communities to apply. NJ LEEP does not discriminate based on race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital or family status, veteran status or disability.