The Assistant Director of Social Innovation will be responsible for the successful evolution and weekly operation of three co-curricular programs focused on changemaking: the Social Innovation Program (SIP), student government, and the Stewardship program. A successful candidate will be a bold program designer who will see the design and execution of these programs as their own social innovation endeavor. In collaboration with the Director of Social Innovation and part-time Social Innovation Coordinator, the Assistant Director will work iteratively through research, design, and implementation to strengthen programs that effectively equip students to create the worlds they’d like to live in.

About the Social Innovation Program
SIP is a signature program of our high school, designed from the ground up with continual opportunities for program innovation and experimentation. Every Friday afternoon, 15+ teachers support all high school students as they learn about and do something about the social and environmental issues they care about. In a given year, student teams carry out 35+ projects—ranging from founding non-profit organizations, building political coalitions for local movements, completing community art projects, publishing books, producing films, and more. Through field trips and hosting guests on campus, students meet with 200+ systems changemakers ranging from entrepreneurs, local civil servants, community organizers, artists, and more. After a variety of experiences in teams and conducting independent capstone projects in 9th-11th grade, seniors finish their SIP careers with internships.

About Student Government
Consisting of 6 grade representatives and 2 co-presidents, high school Student Government is the primary avenue for student agency. In close collaboration with high school administrators, Student Government takes on the nurturing of systems-level solutions toward improving the student experience. Students meet 1-2 times weekly with administrators to develop their leadership practice by defining problems, preparing to facilitate meetings with peers, and engaging in creative problem solving.

About Stewardship
All students meet weekly on Friday mornings as a member of a committee dedicated to improving a particular aspect of school culture and community. Examples include, Sustainable Campus Committee, Equity Alliance Committee, Morning Meeting Committee, Yearbook Committee, or Student Store Committee. Each committee is facilitated by an elected student chair who is supported by a faculty member. Committee chairs meet on a monthly basis with administrators to hone their leadership practice, discuss budget, and collaborate across committees.

Position Overview

We are currently accepting applications for Fall 2024.

Roles and Responsibilities

The full-time position responsibilities include:

• Program design
  • Refine goals and learning outcomes for each program by participating in school-wide conversations about mastery transcript and assessment.
  • Identify and facilitate opportunities for co-design of programs with faculty and students.
  • Establish and maintain organizational partnerships with people within the school community and around the region who are willing to host student interns or teams.
  • Advance channels for collaboration between Student Government and high school administrators.
  • Explore opportunities to create summer SIP experiences for students and educators.
  • Conduct program annual evaluations and undertake improvements.
• Teaching and learning
  • Support teachers’ growth as SIP Faculty Facilitators and Stewardship Committee Faculty Facilitators through coaching, writing lesson guides, conducting participatory workshops, and more.
  • Formalize assessment practices in SIP to support student learning.
  • Provide leadership development instruction for Student Government and Stewardship programs.
  • Provide ongoing and timely education on civic engagement, school-wide
  • Collaborate with departments and teachers to foster SIP-like work in courses.
• Program operations
  • Facilitate regular experiential learning opportunities (including calendaring, creating transportation plans, staffing, and more)
    Communicate weekly to families, teachers, and students about curriculum and field trips.
  • Communicate to external and internal audiences about program successes and ambitions using channels such as, email newsletters, blog posts, or social media.
  • Provide event production leadership for related events (e.g., Creative Connections networking event, annual changemaking panel)
  • Oversee student and faculty placement into SIP sections and Stewardship Committees.
  • Evaluate risk management practices of off-campus trips
• Teaching (Spanish and/or other course)
  • Teach 1 course per semester or another course as needed by the school

Requirements

• Experience overseeing the operations of an experiential program (e.g., field trip transportation, risk management, chaperone training, communication, etc.);
• Experience designing educational programs;
• Strong organizational and communication skills to support managing a diversity of responsibilities at the same time;
• Ability to maintain and grow a network of nonprofits and other changemaker partners in the Los Angeles area;
• Familiarity working with teachers and/or previous teaching experience;
• Strong working knowledge of civics, public policy, entrepreneurship, community organizing, design thinking, social change, etc.

Qualifications

Qualified candidates must have a minimum of 5 years experience in a middle or high school setting, and demonstrate success working with teams, as well as a diverse group of students and families.

Additional qualifications include:

• A Bachelor’s degree; Advanced degree preferred
• Demonstrated success working with a diverse population of teenagers and families
• Demonstrated success in a leadership role
• A commitment to equity and inclusion
• An understanding of anti-bias and anti-racist practices
• Strong interpersonal and writing skills
• Effective presentational skills
• Demonstrated history of commitment to inclusive and equitable practices in a school setting

Ideal qualities:

• Believes in experiential education’s ability to activate and propel student passion;
• Believes that youth are not only tomorrow’s changemakers but also today’s changemakers;
• Is invested in creating meaningful partnerships with individuals, organizations, and communities;
• Has an entrepreneurial mindset and skillset;
• Thinks creatively, both within and beyond “design thinking;”
• Is equally ready to facilitate, instruct, and advise.

You might be…

• An administrator at a school looking for a school community that embraces progressive pedagogy and innovative program design through a DEI and social justice lens, and believes that there are opportunities to think beyond the service learning paradigm.
• A nonprofit program manager eager to support a substantive 4-year sequence for a dedicated group of students and educators.
• A teacher eager to expand beyond your own discipline who has a history of taking your students beyond your classroom walls.
• A community organizer who would like exposure to a variety of causes and movements.
• Or something else!