AmeriCorps

Education Fellows and VISTA’s

Are you passionate about working with students in Rhode Island’s urban districts?

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Learn more about our current Education Fellows experience through their Story of Service.

Click here to learn about our current AmeriCorps Education Fellows and VISTAs

Education Fellows teach in classrooms across the state, giving our Fellows experiences to launch their careers while making a difference in the lives of our students.

The Learning Community, an innovative urban public school in Rhode Island, offers The Education Fellows Program, a one-year opportunity for recent college graduates who seek professional experience in urban education and want to make a contribution to the lives of young learners. Education Fellows will make a clear and targeted impact on cohorts of students and their dreams for the future.

The Education Fellows Program enables enthusiastic, creative and dedicated individuals who are exploring careers in public education to fulfill meaningful roles in a dynamic urban school alongside experienced professional teachers and administrators. Fellows serve as academic tutors and get to see firsthand strategies in the classroom, at recess and after school that will help close the achievement gap.

Hear from some past Ed Fellows!

Doing math intervention in the classrooms of veteran teachers has been a great learning experience for me. I observed methods and techniques that I will  be able to apply in my own classroom. My experience also reinforced the importance of building relationships with students. I have learned that you can be a much more effective teacher when you have a positive relationship with those you are trying to teach.

-Janet, Ed Fellow 2017 – 2018 

I had taught at a high school following earning my degree and completing of post graduate studies many years ago.  Returning to the classroom as an AmeriCorps Ed Fellow at The Learning Community following retirement was a real eye-opener for me.  The school environment had transformed from an autocracy to an egalitarian relationship between teacher and students.   The latter condition encouraged students to express themselves more openly and fostered, not only the student’s education, but that of their peers and my own.  I learned that students are a great source of fresh ideas and their outlook helped me appreciate and view things in a different way.

-Richard, Ed Fellow 2016 – 2018     

Working at The Learning Community has been a very enriching experience. It has stretched and challenged me, in ways of behavior management and teaching. But it has also showed me that I am capable. It’s enabled me to celebrate little accomplishments, to be on top of the details and to see things in the eyes of a student. It has not been easy, but it has been rewarding and I feel more equipped to take on what next, after leaving this program. Its showed me certain abilities and gifts I didn’t know I had. It has made me realize that confidence is key when teaching. I’m grateful for the lessons and experiences I’m taking from this program.

-Lydia, Ed Fellow 2017 – 2018 

The VISTA Program

The Learning Community will host 4 AmeriCorps VISTAs during the 2019-2020 school year. Each VISTA will build capacity through systems & curriculum enhancement, family engagement, researching best practices for student health & wellness, and by strengthening partnerships with community art organizations and our partner schools. Our VISTA members play different capacity-building roles in our school community and see a lot of the behind-the-scenes work of making a school successful.

Read more about each of our VISTA positions for 2019-2020:

Communication & Development VISTA – The Communication & Development VISTA works with our school’s Leadership Team and Development team to update, improve and enhance our current systems and platforms for communications. This includes helping to: 1) Support the creation of a targeted outreach campaign to connect with a wider network of community leaders who will provide financial and/or experiential resources for our school and students. 2) Support the Director of IT and School Leadership with updating our online presence to ensure up-to-date and accurate information about the work that our school is doing. 3) Create an ongoing communication calendar for school events and marketing that can be used every year by researching various project management systems to find the best fit for yearlong communications coming from the school.  This position is currently open and has a start date of September 3, 2019. Click here to apply!

Community Partnership VISTA – The Community Partnership VISTA will be in the first year of the VISTA position and will work on several projects to engage members in our community to support experience learning for our students. This VISTA will: 1) identify and recruit local health organizations to support the school’s health and social/emotional learning curriculum across all grade levels. 2) Generate a yearlong plan to engage external partnerships for elementary grades that enhance school curriculum on a grade-to-grade level. 3) Generate a year-long plan to engage external partnership for middle grades that will also enhance school curriculum. This VISTA will research, make contact and support the school with forming and maintaining these partnerships. This position will allow for our students to be exposed to more experiences that tie to the curriculum each grade level is using.   This position is currently open and has a start date of September 3, 2019. Click here to apply!

School Culture VISTA – The School Culture VISTA will be in the first year of the VISTA position and will work on several projects during the first year. This VISTA will: 1) research high-quality curriculum to support teachers educating students on how to be valuable members of their community. 2) Gather student and teacher feedback, lead professional development and revise lessons based on teacher and student reflection. 3) Create a database of local-national issues related to race, gender, and class that are relevant to the community and engaging to students to support their learning about activism and social institutions. 4) Manage and recruit community partners to work with middle grade student during Community Responsibility Blocks to offer high quality education about their community.  This VISTA will present their findings to the Middle Grade Director and work closely with the Middle Grade Teachers to support their understanding and implementation of the research this VISTA completes.  This position is currently open and has a start date of September 3, 2019. Click here to apply!

Data & Research VISTA – The Data and Research VISTA will work in close collaboration with The Learning Community’s Director of Data and Information Systems to refine and analyze existing systems that are currently being used. Systems include data management to support teachers with their decision making regarding student performance, tracking statewide comparative data and proposing changes to the tools and study and documenting the school’s student enrollment and teacher assignment data systems. This position will be open in October 2019 for a start date of February 2020.

VISTA Member Benefits

Benefits include extensive training, health coverage, a living stipend, child care allowance, student loan forbearance and other benefits.  Members are eligible for an education award of $6,095 upon completion of a year of service or a cash stipend of $1,800. Please visit the VISTA Campus website for more information about serving as a VISTA.