AmeriCorps

Education Fellows and VISTA’s

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

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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 2018-19 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 2018-2019:

Progressive Education VISTA – The Progressive Education VISTA will be partnering with the Teaching Studio, the professional development consulting group of The Learning Community to support the planning and opening of the Rhode Island School for Progressive Education (RISPE). The ultimate goal of RISPE is to close the educational equity gap in urban public schools that primarily serve low-income students. RISPE will seek to recruit candidates that reflect the diversity of Rhode Island’s urban districts and will support those candidates in becoming highly effective, culturally responsive, and social-justice minded educators.  

Community Engagement VISTA – The Community Engagement VISTA will be researching and developing systems to work alongside community partners, including families, non-profits, businesses, and performing arts groups, to maximize the impact for our 560 students and ensure efficiency and reflective practice alongside the larger community.  

Middle Grades Integrated Studies and Social Justice VISTA – At the Learning Community the Middle Grades have worked hard to grow our adult learning around race, gender and class inequities, and to craft curriculum to grow students’ critical consciousness so that they might take thoughtful action to create a more just world. The goal of this project is to create and revise systems that allow teachers to work more collaboratively, through the lens of social action. The Middle School Integrated Studies and Social Justice VISTA will work to fully implement the work of creating cohesive and supportive structures in the middle grades. Additionally, this VISTA will support to make sure our internal discipline practices align with our beliefs as a community about empowering young people and in creating and revising systems to better support integration.  

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.  

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 $5,920 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.