Teacher/Mentor - Colorado UpLift : Job Details

Description of Company: Colorado Uplift is a non-profit organization in Denver, Colorado which is fully committed to its mission of creating long-lasting, life-changing relationships with urban youth through our Social/Emotional Learning Expertise in the Denver and Aurora school districts.

Our Teacher/Mentors teach in the various school districts, free accredited classes which are focused on social/emotional learning and the leadership characteristics which encourage and inspire successful, life-long learning. As the teaching/mentoring relationship is built, it allows us to come along side under-served youth and communities to provide care and support that many have never before experienced. UpLift also has various after-school programs and community partnerships that help us remain engaged with students beyond their time in class.

In our after-school program areas we mentor students with a holistic approach of supporting the whole individual and teaching them about living a balanced life. We provide opportunities and experiences that allow them to explore all areas of their lives including family/support, friendships/relationships, beliefs/morals, education/training, financial/planning, societal responsibility, health/wellness, career/post educational interests, and soul/self-care as they grow and change through their experiences within the UpLift program.

During our summer/winter we are able to engage in our partnerships with other organizations where we can coach kids while exposing them to unique, motivational, and inspiring experiences (hiking, mountain biking, river rafting, snow skiing, fly fishing, boxing/marital arts, the arts, dance/fitness, mental health/wellness, youth camps, and many other meaningful activities). It is through those activities that our staff engage their minds, hearts, and souls to inspire them to become the best they can be and help them to discover who they are and their purpose in life!

Many students are exposed to the UpLift program in elementary school and continue with their teacher/mentors through middle and high school and beyond! UpLift has been around for 40 years and has something special which helps urban youth see their way through overwhelming challenges such as difficult family dynamics, poverty, educational difficulties, guns/violence/gangs, drug/alcohol use, and many other incredibly tough situations that are outside of their control.

With Colorado UpLift, they see a light that wasn't there before in their lives and they are drawn to taking that next step of growing into a servant leader within their communities to make real change in this world! If you are open to walking with us in our mission to support urban youth in all the areas of life described above with a comprehensive, holistic approach, Colorado UpLift might be the right place for you!

Job Title: Teacher/Mentor - Practitioner

Reports To: Site Operations Manager

FLSA Status: Exempt

SUMMARY

This position is responsible to work with a team to build long-term life-changing relationships with urban youth through various program areas such as in-school, after-school, adventure, advanced leadership - career/college prep, and post-secondary in order to teach in the classroom instruction in character, leadership, and life-skills and engage with the students (outside of the classroom) as a mentor utilizing social/emotional learning.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following:

· Establishes and builds trusted mentoring relationships with all students in caseload with the goal of producing positive, life-changes in urban youth and build community leaders.

· Teaching the pre-developed UpLift curriculum and manage the classroom professionally in accordance with the UpLift standards after a training period of 6 months and supporting the school district educational needs.

· Participate, be attentive and present, and arrive on-time to meetings, classes and other organization-sponsored activities/events. Participate and lead in bonding activities consistently with caseload of students. Engage as an integral part of the area team to support the mission and vision of the organization.

· Organize and plan time effectively to be fully prepared to teach classroom lessons, checking emails in a timely manner, and communicating effectively with teammates.

· Handle administrative tasks and record-keeping with strong accuracy related to grading and reporting in consistent and timely manner. Complete Sales Force database entries related to engagement with student contact/activities on a consistent basis with accuracy.

· Serve as positive and inspirational role model and leader for UpLift students by demonstrating behaviors, actions, and skills that accurately represent the UpLift values, character qualities, and mission.

· Responsible for reporting to work as assigned, keeping in line with Colorado UpLift's attendance policy and professionally represent UpLift at school site visits, donor and fundraising events, community service projects, and other UpLift events or functions.

· Responsible for engaging in the UpLift Development Model with self and students (Challenge, Support, and Accountability by owning, engaging, and practicing). Engage in ongoing personal and professional learning and education. Maintain professional community-based, school district, or donor relationships.

· Professionally and promptly fulfill all other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

QUALIFICATIONS

· Possesses a passion and commitment to UpLift vision/mission and can relate to, build relationships with, and has an interest in mentoring urban youth. Also, possesses superior interpersonal skills to work effectively with a wide variety of personality types. Must have the ability to thrive in a team environment.

· Demonstrates the ability to organize and deliver lesson plans and deliver the basic UpLift curriculum in a team teacher environment as well as having the ability to learn and teach new skills.

· Engages with Strong Administrative and Computer skills including MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, Power Point), Google Docs, Outlook Email/Calendar, Salesforce, and various communication and online teaching platforms (such as Zoom, Teams, Web-X, SalesForce, Infinite Campus, etc.)

HOURS AND AVAILABILITY:

Staff members must be available Monday through Friday (8-5) for various classroom related activities and teaching 1-2 classes a day. Additionally, there is some availability needed on the weekends for the mentoring aspect of the position in activities that are outside the normal work week. Also, it is probable that there will be a need for consistent availability for after-school mentoring activities 3-5 days a week at various hours (outside of the typical 9-5) depending on the activities or needs of the students. Although there is a great deal of flexibility needed, the organization also recognizes the need for a strong work-life balance and will work with employees to ensure that the workload is effectively shared to provide for enough time off.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

High school diploma or general education degree (GED) plus two years of experience in a coaching/mentoring capacity, or Associate's or Bachelor's degree in education.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the public. Bilingual in Spanish and English preferred.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS

Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume. Ability to apply concepts of basic algebra and geometry.

REASONING ABILITY

Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS

Valid Driver License, clean background check, and proof of current auto insurance. Must have CPR certification within six months of hire. Teaching Certificate/License a huge plus or the ability to earn an Adjunct Teaching Certificate focused on social/emotional learning.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Employees must regularly lift and /or move up to 25 pounds and may occasionally be required to lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job and may be either in the classroom or during other mentoring activities (such as being in the mountains hiking, biking, or rafting, swimming with students, snow skiing, driving the UpLift 12-person vans, or any other types of company-sponsored activities that create an diverse work environment). Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is anywhere from quiet to loud depending on the specific work situation.

TRAVEL

Local to central office, to community-based organizations, to the designated school, and other locations around the Denver Metro area and drive within mountain terrain. Additionally, may have the opportunity to travel out-of-state or out-of-the country when engaging in after-school mentoring activities or trips.