Teen Mindfulness Instructor - in Schools
POSITION: Part-time instructor & Instructor Intern
# of Openings: 3
TIME: 5 -12 hours/week, September 1, 2024 – April 30, 2025
LOCATION: On-site in select School District of Philadelphia Public Schools & instructor meetings at our offices 901 Market Street, Philadelphia (Industrious, inside the Fashion District)
COMPENSATION: Seasonal, PT W2, $25-$40, commensurate with experience.
OVERVIEW:
Inner Strength provides restorative mindfulness-based programs to 7-12th grade students throughout the School District of Philadelphia. Since 2014, more than 26,000 students have completed the 12-lesson flagship Inner Strength Teen Program, learning tools that cultivate calm, curiosity, and care. Evidence-based results show learning in self-regulation, self-compassion, engagement, perseverance, optimism, connectedness, and happiness. They learn invaluable skills that help them better engage with the world around them, with their emotional life, and with the process of learning and discovery.
During the Academic Year 2025, we anticipate serving 7 partner schools, providing an estimated 2,000 students with mindfulness support.
We have openings for 3 part-time instructors or instructor interns.
Instructors must have experience with mindfulness or related contemplative modalities (including yoga, somatic healing, meditation techniques) and youth instruction.
Seasoned instructors will manage a classroom on their own after training and practicum.
Instructor Interns will assist seasoned instructors. Interns compensation: $18 -$22 / hour
POSITION DESCRIPTION:
Instructors will follow Inner Strength teen mindfulness lesson plans, teaching mindfulness-based skills, compassion-building tools, highlights of adolescent brain development, and an understanding of a systems perspective looking at how cultural change impacts our personal experience.
Instructors will also teach peer group inquiry techniques, social-emotional skills, and stress management. Programs have various structures depending on specific school sites including mini-retreats, one off classes, 4-lesson, 8-lesson, and 12-lesson programs.
Instructors with a research background may also assist with conducting pre and post-surveys, student focus groups, and results analysis.
Some programs and youth fairs will be on Saturdays or after regular work hours.
Zoom and in-person bi-weekly Instructor meetings to debrief and continue to learn techniques.
This is an ideal opportunity for substitute or experienced mindfulness and yoga instructors,classroom teachers, counselors and climate coaches interested in wellness approaches, youth mentors, and others interested in training to support high school students with trauma-informed, self-regulation, and stress-reduction tools.
TRAINING:
Selected candidates must successfully complete the following:
1) Inner Strength self-paced online training (required).
2) In-person training in Fall 2024 (required).
3) Co-teaching (paid) with a senior Inner Strength instructor for one semester.
EXPERIENCE:
Required:
BA or degree candidate in Education, Psychology, Social Work, Counseling, or 3-5 years equivalent related field experience.
Mindfulness-based tools and practice, Yoga teacher training or personal trainer certification, Social-emotional learning, Playworks or Restorative Classroom skills, Trauma-sensitive supports, and Equity & Inclusion techniques.
Classroom teaching, climate coaching, or youth mentorship experience.
Valid clearances and adherence to latest COVID protocols as required by the School District of Philadelphia.
COMPENSATION:
Seasonal, hourly W2, $25-$40, commensurate with experience.
Hours: 5 - 12 per week, September 1, 2024 thru April 30, 2025
Inner Strength Education is a 501c3 organization, which provides programs to empower youth to realize their goals, uplift school climate, and create dynamic and caring learning environments.
More at www.InnerStrengthEducation.org
Applicants should submit resume and cover letter to Susan Aguilar, su...@InnerStrengthEducation.org
More about Inner Strength Education
Our mission is to uplift the minds, hearts, and actions of youth through mindfulness, systemic thinking, and related tools to help them realize their higher potentials.
Our vision is of a world in which all young people are supported to realize their higher potential and create a world of beauty and benefit to all.
In 2014, Amy Edelstein created an innovative mindfulness and systems thinking curriculum, based on her four decades of experience in the field. She piloted that program at Bodine High School for International Affairs, and out of that successful year, she founded Inner Strength Education. Since that time instructors trained in the Inner Strength System have worked with more than 26,000 students, and 3,200 teachers in Philadelphia providing more than 250,000 instructional touchpoints, and transforming lives in the process. Statistically significant improvements have been measured by Syracuse University and published in several peer-reviewed journals, and the Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning has designated Inner Strength as a recommended program. From these roots, a strong multi-branched tree of empowerment, discovery, and restorative programs continues to grow and develop. As Inner Strength looks forward to its tenth year of academic programming in Philadelphia Schools, we will undertake work that will deepen our capacity to uplift youth and their school ecosystems, as well as strengthen our organization for years to come.
