IRC San Diego, CA Field Office

Jan 18, 2006 11:21 AM

A Joint Project of the United Federation of Teachers and the International Rescue Committee

Position: One Literacy Teacher for Newly Arrived Refugee Students IRC San Diego, CA Field Office

Founded in 1933, the IRC is a leading nonsectarian, voluntary organization providing relief, protection and resettlement services for refugees and victims of oppression or violent conflict. One aspect of the IRC is to provide assistance to refugees resettling in the United States. The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) is the union of New York City’s public school educational professionals, with a tradition of commitment to and advocacy for human rights, democracy and international solidarity and cooperation. The Sandy Feldman Fellowships are a joint project of the IRC and the UFT, named after the late President of the UFT and its national affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers. Throughout her life and in all of her work, Sandy Feldman was an exemplar of the teacher’s commitment to the intellectual development and general well-being of the students living in poverty.

The Summer 2006 Sandy Feldman Fellowships in San Diego, California will serve the educational needs of students who are newly arrived refugees The IRC San Diego Regional Office (IRC/SD) was established in 1975 to assist refugees relocating to the US and is the leading private, non-profit, non-sectarian resettlement agency in San Diego, having resettled over 20,000 refugees. IRC/SD has numerous programs to help refugees and asylees acculturate and work towards self-sufficiency. These programs include: case management; employment assistance; immigration services; financial literacy and Micro Enterprise programs; specialized programs for women and youth; and citizenship/English language classes.

IRC San Diego runs Students Plus, an after school program for refugee and immigrant youth at Crawford High School. The goal of Students Plus is to help these teens adapt more quickly and successfully to the culture of United States high schools while increasing their academic performance. To meet the needs of newly arrived refugee and immigrant youth, Students Plus provides tutoring, academic enrichment and positive social direction.

The Sandy Feldman Fellow will help the IRC San Diego office develop and teach a summer program in literacy and reading skills.

The Teacher Education Fellows will report to the Student Plus Program Specialist. For the purpose of day-to-day operations, the Teacher Educator Fellows will work closely and in collaboration with the IRC

All travel and living expenses will be covered by the Sandy Feldman Fellowship program.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SAN DIEGO, CA FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM:

The Sandy Feldman Fellow is responsible for planning and teaching a six week long class in Reading. The class will be designed to address the needs of students who concurrently enroll in ESL (English as a Second Language) and 9th grade English due to San Diego Unified District requirements. Often times, students making the transition from ESL classes into mainstream English classes fall behind because they have not had sufficient time to master the language before they are required to use it to do high school level work. These students miss the opportunity to learn reading fundamentals and to develop their reading ability. Therefore, the summer program will be designed to help refugee and immigrant students increase confidence in their reading ability, increase their interest in reading, and enable them to monitor their reading comprehension as they read.

The Sandy Feldman Fellow will:

• Develop and implement a six week summer reading course, designed to help students academic performance in all content areas, for the Students Plus program;
• Prepare and teach lessons that accommodate students in similar grade levels with varying reading abilities;
• Productively incorporate volunteers into classroom instruction;
• Provide guidance and act as a resource for volunteer tutors, including training of different teaching strategies that can be used after completion of the fellowship;
• Collaborate with IRC staff to develop incentives for student participation, such as field trips, outdoor adventures, or just-for-fun trips;
• Make individualized recommendations for the ongoing instruction with each student.
  

QUALIFICATIONS:

A strong candidate will be an active or retired member of the United Federation of Teachers who has:

• Experience in and mastery of the pedagogy for teaching reading, especially for English Language Learners and adolescents;
• A knowledge of and experience in educational programs and initiatives in a multi-cultural setting, and with many immigrant students;
• A working conversational knowledge of Spanish is preferred;
• Experience in community-based programs for children and adolescents;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills;
• Ability to travel on a regular basis to off-site programs;
• Flexibility, dependability, and creativity are desired;
• Must be able to work independently, be a self-starter, and maintain responsibility for multiple tasks;
• Demonstrated ability to work cooperatively on a team;
• A commitment to work as a Sandy Feldman Fellow in San Diego, CA for July and August, 2006.
  
  
  To apply for the position, send the following materials to SANDY FELDMAN FELLOWSHIPS, United Federation of Teachers, 52 Broadway, Fourteenth Floor, New York, NY 10004 ATTN: Winsome Johnson:

1. A cover letter explaining your interest in the fellowship, and stating your qualifications for the fellowship;
2. A complete resume;
3. Three letters of recommendation from educators with whom you have worked.
   
   Applications must be received by JANUARY 28, 2006.