Job Goal: In collaboration with The Calculus Project Organization, founded by Dr. Adrian Mims, the Somerville Calculus Project supports Black and Latiné students, as well as students of other underrepresented identities, in order to support SPS’ vision of closing the achievement and opportunity gap in our advanced level math classrooms. Once students are enrolled, the Calculus Project (TCP) commits to working with them through their senior year of high school. In the summer, students come together for four weeks of rigorous and engaging math experiences to pre-learn selected topics from the upcoming year and participate in team building, field trips, clubs, and other STEM experiences.
The Calculus Project is a space in which students collaborate frequently, see each other as resources for learning, and recognize the mathematical competencies each of their peers contribute. We are searching for Peer Mentors who can support other students in building this community of learners.
Qualifications:
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SHS students or recent SHS alumni who (1) have participated in TCP in past summers, (2) are passionate about STEM, and/or (3) are aspiring mathematics teachers are encouraged to apply
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Experience interning in a mathematics classroom or working with youth in a summer program is a plus
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Ability to communicate with students and staff who are from culturally and/or linguistically different backgrounds
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Spanish, Portuguese, or Haitian Creole language proficiency is a plus
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Ability to identify biased and hateful incidents among students and staff and appropriately report such incidents
Responsibilities:
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Collaborate with a grade level team that includes a Learning Designer (instructional lead), Learning Facilitator (classroom lead), and one to two other peer mentors
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Support the Learning Facilitator with a group of 10-20 students daily
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Create a nurturing learning environment, maintain high behavioral and academic standards, and foster a culture of collaboration and exploration
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Work with Learning Designer to enforce classroom/group norms during direct instruction and proactively support students during small group practice in developing their conceptual understanding and procedural proficiency in topics from Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, or Pre-Calculus
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As applicable, attend class daily after teaching responsibilities have been met, to pre-learn topics in Precalculus, Calculus, or Statistics in preparation for the school year
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Support the Learning Facilitator in leading a daily advisory block to build community and strengthen relationships between students and staff
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Collaborate with other peer mentors to plan activities and lead at least six sessions of an afternoon club (supervised by a Learning Designer or Facilitator) for up to 15 students
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Support the implementation of the Count Forward curriculum, a series of conversations, discussions and presentations meant to disrupt deficit thinking and amplify the contributions of professionals of color to the U.S. social fabric, but to STEM in particular
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Help to chaperone a small group of students during field trips
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Attend up to 1.5hr/week of daily debriefs with TCP summer staff
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Respond to behavior concerns, conflicts, and crises as they arise
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Report incidents to summer leadership team and other relevant staff as required
Terms of Employment:
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Seasonal/Yearly Employment
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Location: East Somerville Community School
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Stipend: $17.72/hour
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Mandatory Orientation and Professional Development Days: Week of June 26, 2023
Program Schedule:
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July 8, 2024 – August 2, 2024
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Monday through Friday
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Students: 6hrs/day, 9am-2pm
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Staff: 6hrs/day, 9am-2:30pm, includes 30min lunch
Reports to: Assistant Superintendent for Academics, Co-Directors of Summer Programs, and Calculus Project Director
The Somerville Public School does not discriminate in its programs, facilities or employment of educational opportunities on the bases of race, color, age, religion, disability, preganancy, home status, martital/civil union status, sex/gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, citizenship status, place of birth, national origin, ancestry, cultural identity, genetics or military status, and does not tolerate any form of retaliation, or bias-based intimidation, threat or harassment that demeans individuals' group or interferes with their ability to learn or work.