Education Programs Fellow at Yspaniola

Yspaniola is a Dominican-American nonprofit dedicated to providing high-quality educational programming from preschool through university in Batey Libertad, an underserved community of Dominicans, Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic. Yspaniola’s vision is to provide our students with the tools they need to successfully advocate for themselves and their communities. During the COVID-19 global pandemic, we are facilitating small group, socially distant learning for students from pre-primary to third-grade, supporting our five university scholars to continue taking their classes online and develop community programs, and equipping all of our students with the resources to learn from home. Yspaniola has historically operated Experiential Service-Learning (ESL) trips for high school and university students from the United States to raise awareness about international development and social justice issues on the island, and we are continuing to do so virtually.

Yspaniola is seeking an Education Programs Fellow to support key literacy instruction in the community of Batey Libertad, Dominican Republic. This role involves training and supporting our dedicated team of local education professionals, working directly with the students in our literacy programs in the classroom, and performing program-related administrative tasks. The fellowship offers a fantastic opportunity to work in the close-knit community of Batey Libertad alongside a passionate team of local and international staff and senior management. We are committed to mentoring fellows to develop their capacity and understanding of the education sphere and international non-profit management, operations, and development.

The community of Batey Libertad is located inland in a rural, agricultural zone. Fellows will reside in the nearby town of Esperanza, where Yspaniola international staff and fellows are generally the only foreigners living in the vicinity. This position will report to the Executive Director. The successful candidate(s) should be available to join us from August 1, 2021 through July 30th, 2022.

Responsibilities:

• Support the Executive Director and education team with administrative work related to the Preschool & LC programming
• Assist in teaching small classes and/or provide small group tutoring for students
• Assist teachers in organizing and sourcing resources for classes
• Support teachers in acquiring the skills they need related to technology (especially use of the basic programs in the Google Workspace)
• Support the monitoring and evaluation of our education programs: assist with data collection, data analysis, and written reports on educational program accomplishments
• Conduct outreach to schools and other organizations that would be interested in supporting Yspaniola’s education programs
• Attend regular 1:1 supervision meetings with the Executive Director
• Possible duties (depending on the extent of the fellow’s training & experience in education):
• Provide regular support to teacher in creating and writing lesson plans
• Provide professional development to teachers, including one on one observation and feedback sessions

Qualifications:

The successful candidate will have the following qualifications and skills:

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a highly relevant subject (e.g. Education, Teaching & Education, International Education, Early Childhood Education), or demonstrable experience relevant to this position
• Proficient in Spanish; a near-fluent or Native speaker is preferred
• Demonstrable experience working in education, especially in literacy and early childhood education
• Demonstrated interest in social justice issues; knowledge of international development and/or Caribbean history & culture preferred
• Belief in Yspaniola vision and values; passion for community and asset-based approaches to education and development
• Experience working in a low-income community, either in the US or abroad (volunteer experience may be relevant)
• High level of cross-cultural sensitivity and excellent interpersonal skills
• Effective verbal and written communicator
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail
• Sense of humor and a high level of flexibility
• Creative thinker, able to take initiative on new projects
• Experience working with young children (volunteer experience may be relevant)
• Familiarity with French or Haitian Creole a plus

NOTE:

New fellows will be required to undertake a 10-day quarantine period at Yspaniola’s volunteer house in Esperanza on arrival in the country. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, social and in-country travel opportunities of our international team will be restricted due to the nature of our work and the vulnerable population that the organization Yspaniola works to support. These restrictions will be in place until such a time as circumstances improve. Our staff is committed to continuing to provide programming while also ensuring the safety of all of our staff members and the families in the community that we serve and fellows must demonstrate that same commitment.

Benefits

Fellows receive a monthly stipend of RD$10,000 (approx. US$170 at the current exchange rate) to pay for food and other basic expenses. Yspaniola provides shared accommodation in our volunteer house in Esperanza for the duration of the fellowship. Transportation to and from the closest international airport (Aeropuerto Internacional del Cibao, Santiago de los Caballeros, STI) on arrival at the fellowship and on departure will also be covered. Note: Previous fellows have been able to secure additional funding for their work through outside funding organizations. Yspaniola is happy to suggest a fellowship fund that may be applicable to this role, and support such applications with any documentation we can.