Summer 2024 - Program Instructor, Justice Scholars

Who we are:

The Vera Institute of Justice, founded in 1961, is a nonprofit criminal justice organization that strives to build just government institutions and safe communities free from the scourge of racism, white supremacy, profit, and inequity that is pervasive in this country’s legal systems. We are an “inside” lane organization that drives change at scale with ambitious public sector leaders who share our commitment to building anti-racist, reparative systems that deliver justice. We leverage our access to government to transform these systems and work collaboratively with stakeholders across many movements—including advocacy, grassroots, and grasstop organizations. Our role is to pilot solutions that are transformative and achievable, harness the power of evidence to drive effective policy and practice, and use advocacy and communications to change narratives and norms.

Vera has a staff of 300 people and offices in New York City, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. We are an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity in the workplace. We expect our staff to embody respect, independence, collaboration, commitment, anti-racism, and equity—both in our outward-facing work and the internal culture of our workplace. We value a range of experiences in people’s educational backgrounds and encourage people who have been directly impacted by the criminal justice system to apply.

Who you are:

The Justice Scholars Program 

Vera’s Justice Scholars Program is for up to 10 New York City high school students for a 4 week period in the summer. This educational program is centered around the concept and practice of justice, and its aim is to provide a robust experience during which young people can be thoughtfully exposed to the work of social justice research, policy analysis, and community engagement.  

Each week students will learn about different aspect of the American criminal legal system, including its history and the aftereffects of mass incarceration. Students will be encouraged to think critically about what values they believe should be promoted in society and how our institutions reflect those values. Through guest speakers, field trips, group projects and class lectures, they will learn about the intersections of race, education, economics, and the criminal legal system.

Primary Responsibilities:

Curriculum development  

• Create, edit and disseminate a rich social justice-focused curriculum appropriate for a summer program for high school students. 
• Develop and teach a multi-modal, interactive, engaging and includes social learning principles curriculum that builds students' knowledge of America's criminal justice system in partnership with Verans and subject matter experts in the criminal legal field 
• Develop and implement a one-day orientation for parents/caretakers at the beginning of the summer, hosted at Vera, and intended to preview the program’s content and support parents’/caretakers’ abilities to support the youth through the program. 

Pre-program activities 

• Assist with pre-program activities such as logistical coordination, admissions and selection process, pre/post-program survey development. 
• Plan, prepare for, and lead daily activities, including field trips, in alignment with lesson plans.  

Lead the Justice Scholar program of up to 10 students in an instructional setting 

• Provide proper, and continuous, supervision of all students. 
• Engage effectively with talented and diverse students, their parents/caretakers, external partners in the criminal justice system, community-based organizations, and others.   
• Coordinate with Vera’s internal subject matter experts and ensure that their time engaging with the students and program, via presentations, Q&A, and/or short interviews, is efficiently and effectively managed. 
• Demonstrate our commitment to learning from and building on each other's ideas, respecting others' experiences and thoughtful exploration.   
• Solve challenges before and during the Program and to move it from development to fruition quickly. 
• Engage commitment to cultural competence and equity and a thoughtful perspective on how best to advance them within the summer program.

What qualifications do you need?

Required:

• Ability to work in-person at Vera’s Industry City and other NYC based locations 
• You are an experienced instructor, who has taught middle or high school students, and can provide clear evidence of student learning and growth. 
• Enthusiasm for criminal legal reform. 
• A desire to expand the minds and lives of students in and out of a classroom setting.