Writers Room Program Assistant at John D OBryant School of Mathematics and Science

Writers Room Program Assistant at John D. OBryant School of Mathematics and Science

About the Opportunity

826 Boston seeks a dynamic communicative and flexible individual to serve as the Writers Room Program Assistant at John D. OBryant School of Mathematics and Science. We are seeking a candidate who can ensure reliable robust support for students while also building on the current strengths of the OBryant Writers Room Team including engaging students in meaningful writing opportunities supporting students socialemotional development partnering with teachers to enhance the writing instruction in their classrooms and curating meaningful creative writing and leadership opportunities for students.

The John D. OBryant School of Mathematics and Science also known as the OB is a 7th12th grade school in Roxbury with more than 1500 students. It is one of three college preparatory public exam schools in Boston which means that students must pass an admissions test or meet specific criteria to be admitted. The OB was the site of the first 826 Boston Writers Room which opened in 2013.

Mission

826 Boston is a nonprofit writing tutoring and publishing organization where students in grades K12 and beyond can share their stories amplify their voices and develop as leaders in school and in life.

Responsibilities

The Writers Room Program Assistant will work 40 hours a week. Regular inperson hours are required. Applicants must be residing in Massachusetts and able to commute to the inperson location listed below before the role starts.

• InPerson Hours: Monday through Thursday: 7:30 AM 3:30 PM
• InPerson Location: John D. OBryant High School of Mathematics and Science 55 Malcolm X Blvd Roxbury MA 02120
• Remote Hours: Most Fridays. There are required allteam meetings professional development and tasks to complete on virtual Fridays.
  • Occasional departmental and organizational meetings will take place on Fridays at our Tutoring Center located at 3035 Washington Street Roxbury MA 02119.

Programmatic Support

• Serve as a writing tutor to students in grades 712 seeking support with writing assignments for class visits across all content areas (humanities and STEM); example assignments and publications include shortform writing assignments research papers and college essays
• Develop and lead 826 Bostoncreated programming which can include standalone workshops creative writing clubs etc. Example programming includes our schoolwide literary magazine student newspaper and middle school creative writing club
• Develop instructional resources and studentfacing materials to support students in building their technical writing skills for STEM subject areas
• Support students writing development through oneonone conferences smallgroup collaboration and wholeclass instruction leading reading and writing workshops
• Support students in social emotional learning and to process life experiences through writing
• Support with coordination of external partners for workshops club visits class visits etc.
• Create & update changing wall programming including advocacy boards contests and opportunities
• Develop a monthly newsletter that summarizes the programs progress and notable highlights
• Assist with Writers Room volunteer coordination including managing email communication and tracking attendance; support tutoring sessions and colead prebrief and debrief conversations
• Assist with data collection analysis and resultssharing associated with the Writers Room including tracking student visits and hours administering annual writing assessment distributing student and teacher feedback surveys and participating in biannual teamwide reports
• Support publishing project design cycle from creating the manuscript through to the book release party
• Colead Student Editorial Board for each publication project ensuring students have the opportunity to inform book content cover and interior design and title selection
• Communicate project progress to staff supervisor and seek counsel when help is needed to execute goals

Additional Responsibilities

• Support organizationwide summer programming
• Provide support at a select outreach and fundraising events including nights and weekends on rare occasions
• Support Writers Room Manager with administrative tasks and the upkeep and beautification of the Writers Room as needed

Qualifications

The ideal candidate is a team player with a steadfast commitment to improving the quality of K12 education including adopting antiracist/antioppressive approaches with a desire to work in a collaborative and inclusive culture and a passion for youth empowerment through writing and publishing.

826 Boston recognizes that impostor syndrome and the confidence gap might prevent some applicants from applying. Few candidates will have all of the relevant experience listed below but 826 Boston is committed to assessing candidates with transferable skills and a willingness to be trained for this role.

Skills and Experiences

• Experience teaching/tutoring writing to students grades 712 in an urban setting
• Ability to adapt to various working and management styles
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Proficiency in organizational time management project management and resource management skills
• Experience with and/or willingness to learn Google Apps Salesforce and InDesign Photoshop Illustrator or similar design tools
• Experience with and/or willingness to learn high schoollevel STEM concept tutoring practices
• Ability to give and receive feedback with humility regulation and tact
• Ability to employ innovative creative and studentcentered thinking for creating engaging programming environments
• Demonstrated commitment to fostering community building a strong sense of team and embracing values of diversity equity inclusion and belonging
• Knowledge of and fluency with social and racial justice intersectionality BIPOC and LGBTQIA history and historic/current systems of oppression
• Experience with classroom management preferred but not required
• Proficiency in Spanish Haitian Creole or Cape Verdean Creole preferred but not required
• Familiarity with the BPS system particularly the schools in Roxbury Dorchester and Jamaica Plain preferred but not required

Salary and Benefits

826 Boston offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience in a similar position with the potential for an annual performancebased bonus. The salary for this position is $40000 for 40 hours per week.

We offer competitive salaries and benefits and are committed to equity trust and transparency in compensation. Basing compensation on someones ability to negotiate or their prior salary can lead to inequities and bias in how people are paid particularly for groups experiencing historical oppression. Therefore we do not ask for prior pay history from our candidates and our offermaking process is negotiationfree for salaries and benefits. We determine the best possible salary offer based on relevant experience and extent to which candidates demonstrate the competencies for the role during the entire hiring process. New hires are typically brought into the organization at a salary between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint depending on qualifications internal equity and the budgeted amount for the role.

We offer a comprehensive benefits plan including flexible work from home options generous paid time off (including 15 PTO days accrued sick leave 13 paid holidays 6 Summer Fridays and an organization wide twoweek winter break); health dental and vision insurance 826 Boston covers 80 of premiums) parental leave paid sabbaticals and more.

This is an exempt fulltime 40hour per week position that reports to the John D. OBryant School of Mathematics and Science Writers Room Manager. The ideal start date for this position is August 4 2025.

826 Boston Diversity Equity and Inclusion Statement

At 826 Boston we honor and actively work toward diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) across our organization. We are committed to centering the voices of the students who we serve to creating inclusive spaces and to incorporating feedback from our community into our decisionmaking processes. Our DEI lens is always evolving through the courageous conversations in which we participate and the relationships that we build through our work and service. We strengthen our cultural competency through experience training and feedback which informs the development of all new organizational practices and goals and the evaluation of all existing procedures.

826 Boston is dedicated to providing a platform for student advocacy through writing and publishing opportunities. In our work and mission we are committed to dismantling white supremacy culture by recognizing that we are complicit in systems of racism and oppression. We will work to hold ourselves accountable in addressing these harmful structures and behaviors.

About Us

826 Boston is part of a national network of youth writing centers cofounded by the awardwinning author Dave Eggers and educator Nnive Calegari that were named in GOOD Magazines 30 Places We Want to Work. Since opening inBoston has delivered its free youth writing and tutoring programs to more than 29000 students and has been recognized by The Boston Globe as one of the best places in the city to volunteer. 826 Bostons youth writers have published their work in The New York Times The Boston Globeand in numerous awardwinning 826 Boston books including A Place for Me in the World which was hailed as a triumph of middle school education byThe Boston Globe. In 2013 the 826 National network garnered the prestigious American Literacy Prize awarded by the Library of Congress.

Accommodations

826 Boston provides reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities at every stage of the application process. Disclosing a disability or requesting a need for accommodations is a separate process from admissions and will have absolutely no bearing on a candidates application status. 826 Boston will make every effort to meet your request but specific requests are not guaranteed. If you need to request an accommodation please contact Catherine Gomez at .

How to Apply

Please include why you are interested in 826 Boston and how your experience has prepared you for this position in your cover letter. The priority application deadline for this position is May 9 2025. After that date applications will be considered on a rolling basis. It is in your best interest to apply as soon as possible.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race color religion sex sexual orientation gender identity national origin disability status protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal state and/or local law.