Academic Tutor
- Job Title
- Academic Tutor
- Job ID
- 27650333
- Location
- Chicago, IL 60619
- Other Location
- Description
-
Reports to: Academic Mentoring Coordinator
Status: Part-Time
Schedule: 15 hrs / week
Gary Comer Youth Center: Having opened its doors in June 2006, the state-of-the-art Gary Comer Youth Center (GCYC) offers positive extracurricular alternatives in a welcoming and safe environment. The mission is to provide the support for all of our youth to graduate from high school, prepared to pursue college and careers. Located on Chicago’s South Side, the Gary Comer Youth Center draws its primary membership from the youth residing on the South Side of Chicago with a focus on Grand Crossing residents. GCYC is the oldest and largest institution sitting on the Comer Education Campus which includes our organizational partners Gary Comer College Prep High School, the South Shore Drill Team and Gary Comer Middle School. For more information, please visit: www.garycomeryouthcenter.org.
Comer Education Campus: With a comprehensive approach to education and youth development, the Comer Education Campus is devoted to guiding young people to and through college and into adult life. The campus constitutes a unique partnership between Gary Comer Youth Center, Gary Comer College Prep, Gary Comer Middle School, and the college success initiative UtmostU. The campus serves over 2,000 youth from across Chicago’s South Side, offering out-of-school time enrichment, academic enhancement, and college success programs. Working with best-in-class partner organizations, the Comer Education Campus empowers young people with the tools they need for post-secondary and life success. For more information, please visit: http://comereducationcampus.org/
Position Summary:
Academic Tutors are responsible for providing supports for the academic, social, and emotional growth to youth in the GCYC Tutoring Program. Tutors will help students complete assignments, set and achieve academic goals, and develop relevant skills and better understand the curriculum outside the classroom. The tutor will meet with youth individually and in small groups, virtually and in-person to maximize each youth's potential growth. Tutors are expected to participate in professional development to strengthen tutoring and mentoring techniques.
Essential Functions and Responsibilities:- Assisting students with homework, projects, test preparation, papers, research and other academic tasks
- Working with students to help them understand key concepts, especially those learned in the classroom
- Teaching skills to improve academic performance, including study strategies, note-taking skills and approaches to answering test questions
- Demonstrating academic best practices for specific subjects and assignments, including research and writing tactics
- Developing and distributing teaching materials to supplement classroom lessons, including study guides
- Conducting practice tests to track progress, identify areas of improvement and help set goals for exam preparation
- Providing students positive and constructive feedback
- Offering feedback on progress to students' parents and teachers where appropriate
- Meet with youth members in small group and one-on-one at Gary Comer Youth Center or at local schools.
- Facilitate effective data entry and management of members’ assessments and growth.
- Provide supportive consultation to colleagues and program providers regarding social emotional or behavior challenges with youth and families.
- Work with safety team to ensure GCYC follows the restorative justice philosophy
- Attend all required trainings.
- Complete a background check and fingerprinting.
- Other duties as assigned
- Responsible for maintaining a physically and emotionally safe environment to further ensure proper youth supervision and managing conduct issues and incidents.
- Attends required staff meetings and trainings.
- Works with other staff to execute effective outreach, recruitment and retention strategies.
- Responsible for accurate data collection and data entry for grant and program compliance.
- Supports the mission of GCYC.
- Works collaboratively in a team setting serving the needs of youth.
- Is committed to the safety and development of all GCYC members.
- Takes on other duties as needed.
- Serves as a role model for youth and community.
- Abides by the employee handbook and established GCYC policies and procedures.
- Recent High School Graduate (2017-2021)
- Thorough knowledge of a specific academic subject or expertise in test preparation. Candidates with a math and science background given first priority
- Strong verbal and written communication skills to clearly explain challenging concepts, provide instructions and deliver feedback
- Ability to motivate and encourage students to improve their academic performance using effective goal-setting strategies
- Creativity and flexibility in order to personalize their learning approach for individual students
- Patience and compassion for students as they develop skills and improve their performance
- Previous demonstrated excellence in the academic subject which will be the focus of tutoring
- Able to communicate effectively with youth.
- Must demonstrate cultural competency, dedication to working with youth, families and community members in our care.
- Must possess genuine care and concern for youth – especially pre-teens and teens.
- Program area management skills that are engaging, non-oppressive and age appropriate.
- Strong project management and organizational skills. Must be able to initiate and finish projects.
- Able to communicate effectively with youth, co-workers, stakeholders and families in a respectful and culturally competent manner via written and verbal communication.
- Must enjoy working with teams but can also work independently.
- Enjoys being the leader but is also confident enough to take directions from others.
- Must be able to take initiative and problem solve. Must be a creative thinker.
- Demonstrates strong accuracy in all areas of work.
- Must possess adaptive vitality.
- Demonstrates understanding of the positive youth development philosophy.
- Demonstrates an understanding of guidance and discipline principles & conflict resolution strategies.
- Must demonstrate cultural competency, dedication to working with youth, families and community members in our care.
- Must have basic computer literacy skills – including Microsoft Office, independent use of the internet and ability to learn and properly utilize software systems.
Physical Work Requirements & Environment:
The GCYC environment is consistently bustling with youth and community members. The Center’s work is fast paced and varied. Our work is done on site where our youth and families are. Therefore, it is required that team members meet these requirements:- Have the ability to lift up to 25 pounds.
- Possess the ability to walk during field trips and to complete building and program rounds.
- Be able to stand and move with youth during programs, field trips and special events throughout the day.
- Must be able to ride various modes of transportation including school and coach buses, airplanes, cars, vans and public transportation.
- Can operate in crowds or with small groups.
- Able to complete administrative work in a shared office space within a youth center.
- A flexible schedule for evening and some weekend hours is required during school year. Summer hours have a more traditional work schedule.