AmeriCorps*VISTA, College Access Coordinator, Temple University

Posted by on March 27, 2011

AmeriCorps*VISTA, College Access Coordinator, Temple University

This is an Americorps VISTA Position. The VISTA member will play a key role in coordinating two college access programs through Temple University’s Community Learning Network.

PhillyGoes2College is a program run by the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of Education. The VISTA member will coordinate with the mayor’s office to heighten awareness of the program on campus. He or she will work with Temple’s three PhillyGoes2College Americorps Fellows to recruit volunteers and heighten awareness of the program. He or she will also investigate the possibilities of a new community based learning course that would place students as college access tutors.

The VISTA member will also work with the community based learning course Education in the Global City. Students from this course are placed as student teachers in the Philadelphia School District’s AVID/Gear Up program. The VISTA member will be the hub of communications between the partner schools, AVID/Gear UP program coordinator, peer teachers in each section of the course, and the students in the course.

For both programs, the VISTA member would help design and implement alternative tours of the campus for participating students. He or she will be responsible for coordinating assessment and evaluation tools.
Duties will include:

Coordinate student participation in the AVID GEAR UP program through up to five sections of the Education in the Global City course.
• Match student schedules with tutoring time slots at partner schools
• Maintain contact with partner schools to monitor student attendance
• Monitor the progress of AVID / GEAR UP students
• Coordinate reflection activities with undergraduate students.

Increase Temple student participation in PhillyGoes2College activities.
• Work with Temple PhillyGoes2College Fellows to recruit students to volunteer for college access writing workshops and to work with District students at student success centers at District high schools
• Support connections between a course in the School of Education and the PhillyGoes2College program to connect Temple students with District high school students.
Organize a series of college visits for District high school students at Temple University.
• Coordinate with Temple University Admissions Department, the Russell Conwell Center, and District high schools to organize and implement a recurring series of college visits for District high school students.
Establish sustainable partnerships between College of Education courses and District schools
• The VISTA will work closely with faculty from the College of Education, Community Learning Network staff and District schools to develop and implement Temple courses that provide consistent support for college access programming for District students.

Qualifications:
The ideal candidate will have experience working with urban youth and a fundamental commitment to improving their understanding of and access to higher education. He or she should have experience in volunteer recruitment and coordination. He or she must have a strong professional sense, including the ability to address high level officials at the university and in city government. The preferred candidate should have experience doing assessments, evaluations, and analysis, including interviewing, survey administration, focus groups, and statistics.

Desired skills:
• Leadership
• Extremely organized
• Ability to manage several projects at once
• Strong written and oral communications
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Basic computing and graphic design
• Analytics and statistics

Compensation:
Benefits of the VISTA Program include:

– AmeriCorps*VISTA Member Living Allowance of $10,692 ($11,724 in Philadelphia)
– $5,550 Education Award or $1,500 stipend upon completion of term of service
– Health coverage
– Federal loan forbearance

Term of Service
PACC*VISTA Members serve from July 29, 2011 to July 28, 2012, with a mandatory Pre-Service Orientation from July 24th-28th, 2011.

To Apply:
1. Send resume and cover letter to rachelhowe@temple.edu
2. Go to https://my.americorps.gov/mp/login.do to log in or create a new profile in My Americorps.
3. Once you have created a profile, apply to our position: https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?fromSearch=true&id=39814