Founding Academic Director, Elementary Family Math Camp (Summer 2027)

Description

Are you a visionary math educator excited to shape the academic heart of a new elementary family math camp? As the Founding Academic Director, you’ll partner closely with the CEO to design and lead the academic experience for National Math Camps’ first elementary family program.

You’ll have meaningful ownership over program structure, curriculum, and faculty selection—without carrying the full weight of camp operations. Your core focus will be on cultivating a vibrant academic community for extraordinary young students, and on supporting faculty in creating immersive, joyful mathematical experiences grounded in exploration and discovery. You won’t be doing this alone: you’ll collaborate with a supportive HQ team and a growing network of mathematicians and camp leaders.

We plan to launch this camp in summer 2027. For at least the first year, this camp will exclusively serve students ages 8–10 in the National Math Stars (NMS) Voyager program. The mission of National Math Stars is to ensure that mathematically extraordinary students from all communities have the resources they need to reach the frontiers of math and science. Because of this partnership, the camp will not have a traditional admissions process in its first year. Instead, we will work closely with NMS staff to identify Voyager students who are a strong fit for this immersive residential experience.

We anticipate hosting two one-week sessions in year one, with plans to expand to up to four one-week sessions in future summers. We have not yet finalized a location, but are actively exploring sites in the Midwest. The Academic Director should expect to be on site for the camp weeks, plus approximately one additional week total for preparation and wrap-up.

This position consists of two linked appointments, both reporting to the CEO:

• Academic Planning Director (part-time, hourly): Year-round preparatory work, including academic planning, faculty hiring, and collaboration with HQ and NMS staff.
• Academic Director (seasonal, salaried): On-site academic leadership during camp.

The Academic Planning Director appointment will begin in spring 2026, with the first summer as Academic Director being summer 2027.

About Us

At National Math Camps, we believe that summer math camps provide transformative experiences that deeply strengthen students' mathematical knowledge and identity. Many of today’s premier mathematicians and scientists point to their participation in math camps as a critical step in their mathematical journeys. It is in these immersive programs that they discovered the beauty and joy of mathematics in a tight-knit community of other “mathy” students and decided to pursue careers that push innovation in the STEM fields. 

Yet, the demand for rigorous math camps in the U.S. far exceeds the available opportunities, leaving many talented students without access to these life-changing experiences. We’re here to change that. Our mission is to ensure that all mathematically talented students have access to rigorous summer programs where they can thrive.

What You'll Do

Preparing For Your First Summer:

• Collaborate with HQ to design the camp’s academic program, schedule, and staffing structure.
• Participate in the hiring of faculty and learning assistants; make final hiring decisions.
• Partner with HQ and National Math Stars staff to identify Voyager students who are a good fit for the program.
• Support faculty in preparing their courses and help plan on-site faculty orientation.
• Finalize course offerings, schedules, learning assistant assignments, and guest speakers.
• Prepare for any additional academic programming and for any classes you will personally teach.
• Determine academic purchasing needs.
• Prepare for on-site learning assistant training.
• Participate in the annual camp leadership retreat each spring (beginning in spring 2027).

Note: If the camp expands beyond Voyager students in future years, then you’ll be expected to participate in the admissions process. This includes designing the application problem set and making final admissions decisions. 

During Camp:

• Lead training and orientation for faculty and learning assistants.
• Teach classes, including mentoring any learning assistants assigned to your course.
• Oversee and mentor faculty; lead regular faculty meetings; observe instruction and provide feedback to ensure high instructional quality.
• Oversee learning assistants and help resolve issues that ar