Writing Instructor

About Minds Matter Boston

Minds Matter Boston is a four-year program that supports high school students from low-income communities and helps them reach their goal of attending a four year college with a robust financial aid package. Students receive mentoring, professional ACT tutoring and the opportunity to attend an academic summer program for two consecutive summers. In addition, Minds Matter Boston provides a 60-minute writing module to help our students hone their writing and critical thinking skills. The organization is seeking a Writing Instructor to lead this module and teach our students the core competencies of writing: grammar, vocabulary, syntax, clarity, and the stages of the writing process. We are determined to provide programming to strengthen our students’ skills in these areas, so that they are ready to write at the college level.

Summary

A Writing Instructor will be responsible for teaching a class of motivated high-school students the fundamentals of the writing process. The Instructor will develop and deliver a series of 60-minute interactive lessons that guide students through brainstorming, writing, and revising an excellent argumentative essay or a research paper. As needed, the Instructor will provide written feedback on student progress and celebrate class achievements. The Instructor is expected to support student academic writing needs, with the goal of helping students become more confident, effective and college-ready writers.

Minds Matter Boston is an equal opportunity employer and is deeply committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. We encourage applications from those who identify as people of color and/or as first-generation college graduates.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Prepare and deliver 60-minute lessons every Saturday from October-May (excluding holiday weekends and weeks of school vacation)
• Communicate session content and progress to Executive Committee members
• Communicate progress and expectations to students
• Design and provide feedback on weekly written assignments
• Assess, record and report student progress
• Track and celebrate milestones and achievements in the students’ writing
• Provide a safe and challenging learning environment that meets the educational needs of our students

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Excellent Communication: prompt and thoughtful communication is required. Writing Instructors will need to communicate consistently with mentees, other instructors, parents and Minds Matter Executive Committee members.
• Effective Instruction: the ability to explain new ideas and unfamiliar concepts in a clear and concise way, taking into account that students will have diverse cultural backgrounds and academic abilities.
• Advanced Writing Skills: expert in English grammar, sentence structure and stages of writing.
• Self-starter Mentality: the ability to conceive of and originate new lessons/activities that will resonate with our mentees.
• Strong Commitment: the ability to attend sessions for one hour every Saturday at Boston University and willingness to commit time during the week for lesson preparation and grading.
• Patience and Enthusiasm!

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 2 years experience teaching, preferably in a middle school or high school writing setting
• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree preferred