Position Description: Teaching Artist
Reports to: Art Coordinator
Employment Type: Seasonal / Full-Time / Hourly
Working Hours: Camp hours are from 7:30 am - 6:30 pm, but you will have an 8hr shift. Overtime is not encouraged but if it were needed, it would be requested by and aligned with your supervisor.
Time Requirement: Preference is given to candidates who can commit to all four sessions. Must commit to at least three sessions.
Session 1: June 26-July 7 (Closed July 4 - unpaid)
Session 2: July 10- July 21
Session 3: July 24- August 4
Session 4: August 7- August 18
Must be able to attend our Camp Training dates: 1: May 20 - 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
2: June 3 - 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
3: June 10 - 10:00 am - 3:00 pm 4: June 20 - 21 from 4:00 pm -7:00 pm 5: June 22 - June 23 -1:00 pm -6:00 pm
Location: 300 Morris Pesin Dr, Jersey City, NJ
Hourly Rate: $18-$25
Paid hands-on training: Training is paid at your hourly rate. You are trained by experts in the specific areas you choose, within the Arts. Training topics include behavior management, youth development, workshop facilitation, EdArts policies, and more.
POSITION DETAILS
The Educational Arts Team (EdArts) is seeking enthusiastic, highly skilled Teaching Artists who are specialized in one of the following: Crafts, Arts, Theatre, Dance/Choreography, Performing Arts, Photography/Video, Storytelling, Scenery, or Music (specifically Guitar and/or percussion) for hourly full-time/seasonal positions. We are specifically seeking Teaching Artists that can offer activities and workshops.
Often referred to as "the hidden gem” of Jersey City, The Educational Arts Team sits on 5 acres of land and is a place of contrast: a suburban camp in an urban setting. A fifty-year institution serving students from low-income neighborhoods, Jersey City young people, families, and educators, EdArts delivers over 200 school-based art education programs and enrolls over 500 campers through our “Camp Liberty” summer program.
With a mission to engage young people with arts-based programs that connect creativity with critical thinking in order to stimulate personal growth and academic achievement by making their learning experience more meaningful, young people are prepared to become life-long learners and socially and emotionally competent.
Job Details include, but are not limited to:
Develop and deliver fun, engaging lessons to youth within the summer camp setting.
Facilitate all pre-scheduled activities with their assigned campers. This includes preparing for and cleaning after-camp activities.
Maintain a strength-based, youth-focused atmosphere that is consistent and sensitive to the needs of participants with learning, emotional, or behavioral differences.
Commitment to working with young people and ability to collaborate with other camp professionals.
Remaining aligned with your supervisor.
Admin-related tasks, per discussion with the supervisor.
Ensure the safety of participants.
Promote the Educational Arts Team culture.
Attend training to further insight into the field is a must
Maintain a stable, safe, and well-disciplined environment with set expectations for both youth and staff.
Basic First Aid and CPR.
Demonstrated experience (lived, academic, professional, etc) within the area you are specialized in. Areas are: Crafts, Arts, Theatre, Ceramics, Storytelling, Scenery, Dance/Choreography, Photography/Video, or Music (specifically Guitar and/or another musical instrument).
Provide direct supervision of all youth, ensuring a minor is never left alone.
All staff must demonstrate an exemplary model of conduct suitable and appropriate toward all children, families, and coworkers.
Selected counselors might be assigned as bus chaperones for the transportation of children to and from the campsite.
You must be able to use your cellphone for work purposes, including using the encrypted (therefore confidential) app “Whatsapp” to quickly receive work-related updates. If help is needed with using this app, support will be provided by your team members and leadership team. If you are a minor, you must obtain permission from a parent or legal guardian to use your cell phone and WhatsApp.
Willingness and ability to swim with minors are a MUST.
Restorative practices are part of the education and culture at EdArts. Community is at the forefront of our priorities. Must be willing to embrace and adopt a non-punitive behavioral system utilizing restorative practices.
QUALIFICATIONS
Must be 18 or older to be considered.
Comfortable with leading responsibilities when being the only legal adult present.
Must be willing and able to perform work duties in an outdoor setting as the position is mainly outdoors.
Ability to collaborate and work within a team.
Highly flexible and adaptable.
Strong interpersonal skills.
Being bilingual or multilingual (English / Spanish / Arabic) is a plus, but not necessary.
Strong understanding of the needs and challenges facing campers from diverse urban backgrounds and must be able to address camper needs with compassion and professionalism.
Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team, within the department and with other staff members and administrators.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, Social Justice lens are a PLUS.
Understanding of the Jersey City Community Landscape.
Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills (oral, written, and interpersonal).
Excellent multi-tasking ability and responsiveness to time-sensitive requests.
LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES: ● Developing Self & Others ● Emotional Maturity ● Inclusion ● Critical Thinking & Decision-Making
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
Compensation is commensurate with education and experience. (Hourly rate stated on page 1).
As a licensed day camp under the New Jersey Department of Health, you will receive the required training topics in order to work with youth at a summer day camp.
The Educational Arts Team benefits include a fun, flexible, creative working environment. We center health and wellness, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging and invest in teaching artists’ professional development. The Educational Arts Team is aligned with state and federal employment law including sick leave benefits.
Educational Arts Team
The mission of the Educational Arts Team is to engage young people with arts-based programs that connect creativity with critical thinking in order to stimulate personal growth and academic achievement by making their learning experience more meaningful. The arts provide powerful tools for children to achieve academic success and increase self-esteem and are at the center of all EdArts programs. We believe all young people should have the opportunity to think, create, reflect, and be heard within a community of engaged learners. Throughout our programs, children are led to question, reflect, deduce, and problem-solve while considering issues, themes, and characters from texts that they read or hear.
Our History
The Educational Arts Team was founded in 1974 by Carmine Tabone and a group of artists, educators, and youth development professionals who believed in the power of the arts to improve literacy, and social-emotional development, and build community. Our fifty-year imprint on Jersey City, Hudson County began with art education programming in community centers, schools, and public spaces through professional development programming for teachers and workshops, theater shows, and enrichment opportunities for low-income students. Camp Liberty follows as our organization's signature program, for more than 40 years, has been a summer oasis offering summer camp programming in the heart of Jersey City. Located on five acres at the edge of Liberty State Park, the Educational Arts Team transforms children, families, and the community through the arts.
The Educational Arts Team addresses literacy, family literacy, equity and inclusion, drug prevention, learning loss recovery, social-emotional learning, life lessons, anti-bullying, writing skills, and academic achievement using theater arts, drawing, and other art techniques. Our in-school, after-school, community, and summer programs are designed to be interactive, with children and families engaged in speaking, listening, acting, reading, writing, drawing, and asking questions. Through this process, the programs which include our Professional Development for Educators, Bringing Literature to Life, Family Literacy, Art Enrichment, and Camp Liberty work to build community and teach healthy ways for people to interact with one another. Most of our programs occur in Jersey City and Newark and their surrounding communities. We work in low-income neighborhood schools providing interactive programs that support both literacy and social-emotional learning. During the 2021-2022 school year, EdArts provided more than 1,100 classroom workshops, assisting teachers in combating COVID-19-related learning loss.
Our Values
Our organization is proud our programs are founded on these values: Access • Inclusivity •Community-centeredness • Empowerment •Creativity •Collaboration •Compassion •Innovation • Engagement•Transformation
Our Vision
It is our vision to strengthen youth, their families, and the community we serve through art education by:
Empowering young people to take charge of their academic and personal success
Teaching young people the tools and skills to manage adversity and challenges at school, with peers, and at home through the arts
Building tolerance, empathy, and personal resilience
Establishing a foundation for students to say no to negativity and to say yes to working on a positive future.
Empowering teachers and parents to address some of our young people’s most pressing academic and social-emotional needs.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
The Educational Arts Team is committed to fostering a workplace culture that values Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging (DEIAB). We actively encourage applications from individuals who have been historically underrepresented and marginalized, including those who identify as people with disabilities, members of ethnic and racial minority groups, veterans, and women. Our organization upholds the principle that all applicants and employees have the right to a workplace that is free from discrimination on the basis of any legally protected characteristic, including sexual orientation and gender identity. As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Affirmative Action (AA), veteran, and disability-friendly employer, we are dedicated to creating a welcoming and supportive work environment where everyone can thrive.
Please note: Potential new hires are required to complete a background check and although they are not required to be vaccinated, if they are vaccinated against COVID, they are required to provide proof of vaccination. Requests for potential accommodation shall be considered in accordance with applicable law if and at such time as a conditional offer of employment is extended to a candidate. Applicants should not provide any medical or genetic information with their application.
Our Programs
HANDS-ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
High-Impact Teaching Strategies
Our professional development workshops equip teachers and administrators with a basic toolbox of interactive techniques they can use in conjunction with their school district's language arts or social studies curriculum.
In these energized, highly participatory sessions, teachers are given a much-needed opportunity to unlock their own creativity, collaborate with colleagues, and recharge their pedagogy with lively exchange. They'll learn easy-to-implement strategies to increase student engagement and facilitate meaningful learning.
STUDENT LITERACY AND ART INTEGRATION WORKSHOPS
Bringing Literature to Life
Reading Comprehension and Writing Skills >> Grades K - 2
Joy and curiosity of the written and spoken word, through storytelling, art, music, movement, and puppetry, including our proprietary Pop Up Puppet Theater experience. >> Grades 3 - 5
Finding meaning, gaining skills, and expanding awareness, with Myths, Fables, Curriculum stories, and Improv. >> Grades 6 - 8
Understanding human nature and honing writing skills by delving deeper into curriculum novels and informational texts. >> Grades 9 - 12
Bringing Literature to Life - Social Studies
Adapting group and pair activities to the social studies curriculum for any grade, helping students understand events in world history as they relate to their own lives.
FAMILY ENGAGEMENT AND PROMOTING READING TOGETHER
Family Literacy offers customizable sessions for schools, libraries, and community centers, to bring families together to hear and tell stories, draw paper puppets and scenery, perform one-on-one for each other, and take home custom-designed desk-top stages to use again and again. After this workshop, children and their caregivers can make a puppet show for any story they read, and perform it for the whole family. This program encourages families to read together by sharing enjoyable literacy activities! Research consistently shows that children whose parents/guardians read to them become better readers with larger vocabularies. Our hands-on approach promotes positive family interaction and lays the foundation for a love of reading and learning through shared storytelling and art activities.
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING
Anti-Bullying, Drug and Alcohol Prevention
Our programs for Grades 4-8 utilize improv and relevant stories and current event articles within a restorative practices framework, to help engage students with their curriculum and grapple with topics such as problem-solving, conflict resolution, and good decision-making. They experience positive, interactive, and cooperative activities and explore significant social issues that highlight the power of reflecting before acting out. These workshops impact classroom culture by building community among students.
PERFORMING ARTS ENRICHMENT
Our sessions feature out-of-your-seat, collaborative activities that help all levels of learners find their inner artists. Arts Enrichment programming includes dance, theater, writing, music, and visual arts. Programming is adaptable to occur during or after school and in community centers.
SUMMER PROGRAMS
Camp Liberty - The iconic summer camp is an urban oasis nestled on 5 acres of trees and grass. Thousands of campers have attended over a span of more than four decades, and many return as counselors. Camp Liberty, a summer extension of EdArts year-round programming, integrates summer fun, fine and performing arts, music, sports, and swimming with the foundational values of equal access, inclusivity, mutual respect, independence, creating community, and making new friends.