After School Arts for Learning Academy (ASALA) - Student Support Specialist

2024–2025 AFTER SCHOOL ARTS FOR LEARNING ACADEMY (ASALA) - STUDENT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

About Arts for Learning Maryland

Arts for Learning Maryland (formerly Young Audiences of Maryland) is devoted to enriching the lives and education of Maryland’s youth through educational and culturally diverse arts programs. Through Arts for Learning, professional Teaching Artists from all disciplines partner with educators, schools, and school districts to provide -- on average -- over 560,000 hours of learning in, through, and about the arts to more than 155,000 Maryland students annually.

Arts for Learning is a mission-driven organization that values community, innovation, and passion. The staff, board, and teaching artists have a shared commitment to advance equity in the field of education by working tirelessly to generate opportunities for students to imagine, create, and realize their full potential through the arts.

About the After School Arts for Learning Academy (ASALA)

Baltimore City Schools’ After School Arts for Learning Academy (ASALA) program, operated by Arts for Learning Maryland (A4L), offers students an opportunity to imagine, create, and express who they are through the arts. This is an action-packed, four-day-a-week, three-hour-per-day program that introduces students to a wide variety of art forms—from illustration and spoken word to percussion, drama, and dance—and gives students a chance to work alongside other students from across the city and be taught by professional artists. Daily literacy and math classes are co-planned by a teacher and professional teaching artist, allowing students to experience reading, writing, and math like never before…through the arts! Arts for Learning will host five program sites throughout the City. Each site will host up to 156 students, and teachers and artists will work with groups of up to 26 students.

Mission, Core Values, and Anti-racist Practices:

The mission of the After School Arts for Learning Academy (ASALA) is to provide students with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend time learning from the best teachers and teaching artists our state has to offer. Through a dynamic, creative, and supportive environment, students will explore math and literacy in a unique arts-integrated environment that allows them to develop socially and emotionally, expands their personal creative process, and introduces them to many different art forms taught by professional artists.

We...

• believe unwaveringly that ALL students can achieve high standards in and through the arts;
• provide opportunities for students to develop powerfully articulate voices through art forms and honor their creative processes along the way;
• create safe, brave, inclusive learning environments for students to grow, make mistakes, and contribute to the community;
• collaborate and reflect by learning from and with each other at every step of the process, cultivating positive relationships between all ages;
• encourage the development of critical thinking, problem solving, inquiry, imagination, and creativity, and provide multiple ways for students to demonstrate knowledge and mastery;
• learn about, honor, and leverage the cultural knowledge, experiences, and frames of reference of our students and community to make learning more relevant and effective;
• ensure that our students are known, loved, supported, celebrated, and valued;
• create inclusive environments where all students’ unique gifts and talents are discovered and cultivated, and where students’ identities (racial, cultural, social, gender, etc.) are reflected all around them and matter through acknowledgement and affirmation;
• examine biases and understand the concepts of institutional and structural racism and its impact on policies and practices, especially related to the administration of public education;
• have a passion for students: an ability to build meaningful relationships and a desire to “go above and beyond” to create homeplaces where Black joy is cultivated and thrives and;
• commit to seeing families as partners in education and communicating with them regularly.

Job Description:

The After School Arts for Learning Academy (ASALA) Student Support Specialist is a part-time exempt position that reports to the ASALA site direc