AmeriCorps Member Pennsylvania -1200 hours

Apply to be an AmeriCorps Playworks Coach today to change the lives of kids in your community tomorrow!  https://www.playworks.org/about/careers/americorps/

ABOUT PLAYWORKS We believe in the power of play to bring out the best in every kid. We are changing the school climate by leveraging the power of safe, fun, and healthy play at school every day. We create a place for every kid on the playground to feel included, be active, and build valuable social and emotional skills. We partner with schools, districts, and after-school programs to provide a service or mix of services including on-site coaches, professional training for school staff who support recess, and consultative partnerships.

BEING A PLAYWORKS COACH Playworks Coaches are AmeriCorps Members. As an AmeriCorps Coach for Playworks, you will join a team of 8. Each member will be a Playworks representative at their assigned school community, this role is the most popular person at the school to bring safe and healthy play to every student. You will actively play and prepare games for K- 8th grade students on the playground, during recess, in the classroom, and lead after school programming. Partnership organizations, like Playworks, engage with AmeriCorps members to improve the communities they serve.  

How you’ll make an impact:

• Create a safe and inclusive recess on the playground by being a caring role model to ensure that every kid plays every day.
• Implement a youth leadership program by providing student leadership opportunities at recess and facilitating trainings for a cohort of students before or after school.
• Lead individual classes to build youth leadership skills, promote cooperation, and introduce new games that kids can play on the playground, including the rules and boundaries.
• Enlist and coach students in interscholastic/developmental sports leagues that might include basketball, volleyball, or soccer.
• Design and implement a community event during the year that engages students’ families at the school site.
• Recruit and coordinate volunteers who will join you at recess to strengthen school climate.
• Develop a strong school culture by influencing, motivating and building rapport with faculty, administrators, parents, and volunteers.
• Participate in national days of service and some weekend service projects in the greater community.
• Flex your administrative muscles to organize program schedules, track your hours, and collect and enter important program data.

Essential Qualifications

• Be at least 18 years of age
• US Citizenship or Permanent Resident status
• High school diploma or equivalent
• Commitment to fulfilling your entire term of service with the ability to serve your scheduled hours consistently- this term of service requires a minimum of 1200 hours over the remaining school year (typically to June), participation in a minimum of 1 National Days of Service, as well as ongoing required trainings and professional development
• Experience leading or teaching groups of children with the ability to engage and inspire youth
• Must be an organized self-starter exhibiting good judgment with the flexibility to adapt to shifting priorities and demands
• Experience using technology required to input program data and communicate with other team members- we use Salesforce and Google products
• Deep commitment to national and community service as demonstrated through volunteerism or other service work
• Experience interacting with diverse communities and the ability to integrate into an existing school community
• Ongoing access to reliable transportation to and from your assigned school site
• Criminal history background checks are conducted on all AmeriCorps members when an offer is made. Your term of service is always contingent upon satisfactory completion of a background check. The results of state and FBI criminal history background checks and national sexual offender checks through the National Sex Offender Public Registry Website (NSOPW) are considered.
• Successful completion of a Tuberculosis (TB) test and CPR and First Aid certification upon hire

Benefits of being an AmeriCorps member at Playworks:

• A living stipend totaling up to$26,180, to be paid out between $1,600 and $1,700 bim