Assistant Program Coordinator

Aspire Education

Founded in 2005, Aspire Education Project (Aspire) is an Oakland-based nonprofit organization with more than 20 years of experience delivering high quality, affordable educational services for students throughout the Bay Area.

Our flagship program is Community Reading Buddies (CRB), a program that trains Bay Area teens to serve as mentors for younger students, supporting their literacy growth and fostering a joy for reading. More than 90% of the Youth Mentors who participate in CRB demonstrate growth as leaders and communicators, while young readers grow in confidence and competence. For more information about the history, mission, and impact of Community Reading Buddies, please visit our website: https://aspireeducation.org/crb/

Job Description

Each CRB Assistant Program Coordinator will shadow a Lead Coordinator and act as an assistant and back up facilitator for one or two of our in-person or virtual program sites for the full duration of the Spring 2027 season. CRB program sessions take place twice per week (Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday) after school at elementary school campuses and community spaces in Oakland, Richmond, and San Pablo.

Each CRB Assistant Program Coordinator is responsible for shadowing a Lead Coordinator for ~1 month at one of our in-person program sites serving 10-15 pairs (20-30 students), then acting as an assistant and back-up facilitator across our program sites. Classroom management skills are essential, and we’re looking to you to be able to create a safe, inclusive environment that provides both teens and children a joyful space to learn and grow. The Assistant Coordinator will be responsible for jumping in to facilitate curriculum when needed, and filling in on administrative needs when needed. This is a pathway role to become a Lead Coordinator, who will be responsible for delivering curriculum, facilitating discussion among teens, tracking attendance and key metrics, observing reading sessions with elementary students, and working with our program partners on-site to ensure a safe, respectful environment and high quality program.

In addition, Assistant Coordinators have the opportunity to play a role in helping to support the continuous improvement of the CRB program in a variety of ways, including supporting recruiting of staff, mentors, and buddies, refining curriculum, supporting community outreach efforts, and more. This is a role that balances significant individual responsibility with the benefits of being part of a supportive team.

This position requires a commitment for a minimum of one program season (January 18 through March 26) with the option to renew and be promoted into a Lead Coordinator role for future seasons. It also requires the person in this role to reliably commute to/from program sites; note that Aspire does not pay for commute time.

We strongly encourage folks who have participated in our programs, particularly as Youth Mentors or Lead Mentors, to apply!

Here’s what the Spring 2027 CRB season looks like, at a high level:

Week of January 18: Training for CRB Program Coordinators and Interns begins

January 25-29: Training for teen Youth Mentors begins

Week of February 1: Spring sessions begin (twice per week either T/Th or M/W)

Week of March 22: Spring sessions end

Job Responsibilities:

• Shadow and support a Lead Coordinator at one to two in-person CRB reading sessions in Oakland or Richmond / San Pablo for the duration of the Spring season
• Support creating a respectful, joyful learning environment for all program participants by employing strong classroom management skills
• Support delivering training for teen Youth Mentors using Aspire curriculum, with an emphasis on facilitating discussion and promoting engagement among teens
• Support teens in serving as effective literacy mentors to elementary students, providing training, coaching, and feedback in line with Aspire training
• Work with CRB staff to support critical operational processes including attendance tracking, leveling, and survey administration
• Support communication with elementary school student families, teen mentors, and on-site program partners during the season, escalating to CRB staff when necessary
• Attend a weekly staff meeting

Requirements:

• Experience working with groups of 10-15 children, preferably at the lower elementary school level. This could be as a teacher, tutor, camp counselor, sports instructor, etc.
• High degree of responsibility and dependability. Program participants are counting on you.
• Flexibility and creativity. Aspire will provide training, but our program has lots of humans, including little humans. Surprises are the norm, and being able to react flexibly is key.
• Effective written and oral communication, including the ability to facilitate discussion and adapt your style to meet the needs of different audiences.
• Experience working with children, preferably at the lower elementary school level.
• Good organizational skills and ability to handle multiple tasks at once.
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team
• Familiarity with Google Suite and Zoom.
• Ability to commute to Oakland or Richmond / San Pablo for twice weekly in-person reading sessions
• Authorization to legally work in the United States
• A LiveScan background check, TB test, and Mandated Reporter training are required. Aspire will reimburse for the cost of the LiveScan as well as Mandated Reporter training time and certificate costs.

Bonus:

• Language skills (especially Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin, or Cantonese)
• Experience as a participant (Buddy or Mentor) in the CRB program
• Experience using Airtable

Paid Sick Leave (accrue 1 hour for every 20 hours worked)