Summer Counselor Boston, Cambridge and Somerville

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW 

About Us and Our Philosophy  

Breakthrough Greater Boston (BTGB) is a transformative college access and teacher training program. BTGB offers six years of academic enrichment and college preparation to middle school and high school students with high potential but limited opportunities. Simultaneously, BTGB recruits, trains and inspires a diverse cohort of high achieving college students to become the next generation of urban teachers. Leveraging a Students Teaching Students model, BTGB provides engaging, tuition-free academic programming during the summer and after school. Our students gain the skills and motivation to succeed in rigorous high school courses and, ultimately, in college. Meanwhile, our teachers gain hands-on experience, research-based training and coaching from professional educators.  

Over the past eight years, 97% of our graduating students have matriculated to college, and 82% of them have persisted through their undergraduate years. On average, more than 70% of our graduating teachers have gone on to pursue careers in education. After two decades of success at our original Cambridge site, BTGB embarked upon a significant program expansion and opened a second site in Boston in the summer of 2013 and a third site in Somerville in 2018. As an independent 501c3 nonprofit, Breakthrough Greater Boston is part of The Breakthrough Collaborative, a national educational movement working to improve educational outcomes for youth across 25 U.S. cities.    

With a deep commitment to our mission, BTGB operates with the highest standards of integrity and best practices, while also enjoying the ability to be innovative and flexible to meet the evolving needs of our students, families and teachers. Our team is diverse, high-performing and dedicated. We continue to build an organizational culture that emphasizes our core values for every member of our community:  

• Spirit: We cherish and embody the youthful energy and spirit of our students and teachers  
• Continual Learning: Everyone in our community has something to learn and something to teach  
• Team Together: We all chip in to accomplish whatever is needed for our teammates and the broader organization  
• Student Centered: Our students are our first priority and our decisions center around what benefits our students  
• Equity and Opportunity: We value diversity of identity, background and thought. We treat everyone with dignity and respect  
• Excellence in Everything: We maintain high expectations for ourselves  

Breakthrough Greater Boston encourages individuals of all backgrounds to apply for this position, and we do not discriminate on any basis prohibited by applicable law. We celebrate the diversity of our world and our community, and we seek to build a team that reflects that diversity in every way. We welcome and encourage all qualified applicants who share that same vision, as we wish to engage all those who can contribute to our work and this mission. 

THE OPPORTUNITY 

Professional staff members play an instrumental role in the success of our Students Teaching Students model. BTGB is seeking part-time Summer Counselors at each of our campuses: Boston, Cambridge and Somerville. At each campus the Summer Counselor will be responsible for supporting our students’ social-emotional health. The Summer Counselor trains and supports our teachers and professional staff in that effort and reports directly to the Manager or Director of Student Services of their campus.   

YOUR CONTRIBUTION 

Direct Clinical Service and Support  

• Provide individual counseling support to students 
• Support and facilitate social emotional learning groups using curriculum from Harvard’s PEAR institute 
• Identify and appropriately support student mental health issues, making outside referrals as needed 
• Observe in classes and during community times 
• Keep accurate records of individual and small group counseling activity 
• Write a brief end of summer report summarizing your work with each student  
• Respond to urgent situations and work with professional staff members to manage mental health crises 

Training and Ongoing Support of Teaching Fellows 

• Lead a pre-summer workshop(s) focused on adolescent development, trauma-informed practices and building relationships with students; provide ongoing coaching throughout the summer 
• Co-facilitate weekly Student Support Team Meetings with Breakthrough staff and Teaching Fellows  

YOUR BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS 

• Experience as a counselor with public middle school or high school students in a diverse setting, preferably on a full-time basis for at least two years 
• Excellent interpersonal skills, especially the ability to communicate and collaborate with college students 
• Creativity, energy, flexibility, organization and strong work ethic 
• Master’s degree required 
• Preferred licensures: LICSW, LCSW, LMHC, MSW, PhD 
• Familiarity with the Breakthrough model or Cambridge, Boston or Somerville Public Schools a plus 

LOGISTICS 

This role takes place at one of our three sites. Breakthrough is seeking Counselors for all sites. 

Locations for summer programming are: 

Boston: One of Breakthrough’s 6 school partners (exact location TBD) 

Cambridge: Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (459 Broadway, Cambridge) 

Somerville: Somerville High School (81 Highland Ave., Somerville)  

The Summer Counselor will be expected to work 20-30 hours per week during the six-week Summer Program (July 5 – August 11)* and approximately 10 hours outside of these dates.**  

Exact hours will be mutually decided upon by the Summer Counselor and Senior Director of Student Services. Our program hours are Monday through Friday 8am to 2:30pm, with faculty meeting and professional development taking place between 2:30pm and 4:30pm. 

*Counselors should allow for an additional hour per week for off-site work and phone consultations. 

**During teacher orientation weeks (June 15-30) and evaluation week (August 14-16), hours are flexible and will be mutually decided upon by the Summer Counselor and Senior Director of Student Services.   

COMPENSATION 

The Summer Counselor is a paid position. The hourly rate is $25/hour.