Netter UACS Nutrition Educator (Full-Time), Netter Center for Community Partnerships

Posted by Netter Center for Community Partnerships on August 20, 2024

Founded in 1992, the Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships is the University’s primary vehicle for advancing civic and community engagement at Penn. It brings together the resources and assets of both the University and the wider community to help solve universal problems such as poverty, health inequities, environmental sustainability, and inadequate, unequal education as they are manifested in the University’s local geographic area of West Philadelphia and Philadelphia at large. The Netter Center develops and helps implement democratic, mutually transformative, place-based partnerships between Penn and West Philadelphia that advance research, teaching, learning, practice, and service and improve the quality of life on campus and in the community. The Netter Center works with and serves as a model for other higher education institutions across the United States and around the world.

The Netter Center’s university-assisted community schools (UACS) is a strategy to educate, engage, empower, and serve all members of the community in which the school is located and engage students (K-16+) in real world, community problem solving.  UACS collaborates with partners to advance teaching, research, learning and service, as well as the civic development of their students.

Position Duties:

UACS Nutrition Educators work as part of the Netter Center UACS team to support nutrition and wellness programming. This place-based position will be rooted at a local UACS K-12 West Philadelphia public school.  The position specifically supports nutrition education and wellness by infusing health and wellness activities and policies throughout. The position both helps coordinate and provide direct instruction during the school day, afterschool, and summer.

Primary responsibilities of this role include, prepping materials and teaching nutrition education and wellness activities to K-12 students in West Phila. Public schools. A component of the position will be to further develop the educational frameworks of our nutrition and wellness education programming. The position works with staff and partners to select evidence-based curriculum most appropriate and effective for their audience and will implement programming that meets SNAP-Ed requirements.

The Netter Center’s Nutrition Educators take a comprehensive approach to community health improvement, particularly improvement in nutrition and wellness and specifically focus on the following activities: nutrition education initiatives within public schools and community, year-round youth development programming, improving access to quality foods for children, youth, families and faculty within partnering public schools and community, increasing activity and exercise levels, as well as increasing awareness and understanding of food systems. Academic programming includes collaboration with school day teachers and administrators to support enrichment activities that support learning across the core subjects through problem-based learning and community development activities. This position will work closely with ABCS courses and facilitate connections to faculty partners. This position also works with undergraduate fellows, work-study and volunteer Penn students.

Learn more and apply here.