Summer Internship Program (Curriculum, Recruitment, Operations, Technology, External Affairs, Finance)
Overview
Ascend Learning’s Summer of Impact (SOI) is an immersive and rigorous ten-week summer experience that gives college students the chance to actualize their passions for social impact by supporting the vision, missions, and operations of an urban public charter network in Central Brooklyn.
Facilitated by Ascend Learning staff, supervisors will aim to support the way that students interact with urban education through guidance, exposure to our various departments, professional development, and strong relationships
This is a full-time, paid internship opportunity. There are 12 internship positions available in the following departments: curriculum, talent, data, operations, technology, external affairs and supporting our Summer teaching fellowship.
When applying for the internship, your cover letter must address which department you are applying to intern for and why you are interested in joining this department. See application details in “Qualifications” section.
Why intern at Ascend Public Charter Schools?
Ascend is a Brooklyn-based network of K-12 public charter schools serving more than 5,000 students across twelve schools. At Ascend, our mission is to provide an extraordinary education for the children of Central Brooklyn, placing them firmly on the path to success in college and beyond.
We are passionate about guiding our students to think critically and independently, and to enjoy education as an end in itself. We teach a rich and rigorous liberal arts curriculum that nurtures students’ natural curiosity about the world, and we foster a positive, non-punitive school culture where students feel connected, empowered, and safe to take academic risks. Watch Ascend in action.
Responsibilities
Curriculum team
Three curriculum internship positions are available. Responsibilities include:
- supporting the development of curricular and school training materials for grades K-12 in various subjects including Math and Shared Text;
- working with the network team to develop the August training program for teachers;
- researching curriculum innovation and best practices in K-12 education;
- lesson plan writing, revamping and organization; and
- creating systems that support collaboration across schools.
Schools team
Two internship positions are available within the schools (1) and data (1) teams. Responsibilities include:
- supporting the operations and facilitation of summer school and Ascend’s summer training for leaders and teachers (schools team);
- creating and disseminating reports that utilize academic and operational data (data team);
- support in systematic improvements to Ascend’s academic and operational data systems (data team); and
- assisting in development and dissemination of training materials for school staff pertaining to using academic and operational data reports to adjust classroom instruction (data team).
Talent team
One internship position is available on the talent outreach and data team. Responsibilities include:
- development and execution of an events and social media calendar;
- research potential candidates; and
- process potential candidates from events, referrals, resume books, agencies and other lead-generating activities.
Operations team
Three internship positions are available on the operations team. Responsibilities include:
- assistance in planning and prepping for the launch of Ascend’s newest schools;
- creating and disseminating reports which utilize operational data;
- assistance in development and dissemination of training materials for school staff; and
- supporting the summer school operations team.
Technology team
One internship position is available. Responsibilities include:
- rebuilding of staff and student laptops;
- laptop imaging;
- assisting with the technology setup of Ascend’s newest locations; and
- troubleshooting of technology for summer institute; staff tech support.
External Affairs team
One internship position is available on the external affairs team. Architecture and engineering students preferred. Responsibilities include:
- conducting surveys to track progress on building maintenance;
- supporting team with building re-design (in-house sketches); and
- taking pictures of sites and updating team on job progress.
Teaching Fellows team
One internship position is available on the teaching fellows team. Responsibilities include:
- designing an ambassador program that will support teaching fellow alum on their college campuses;
- supporting the operations of summer fellow excursions and activities; and
- assisting with the day to day needs of the summer teaching fellows team.
Finance team
One internship position is available on the finance team.
Desired skills and traits
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Extreme attention to detail
- Alignment with the core beliefs of Ascend Public Charter Schools
- Passion for writing and organizing instructional content (curriculum team)
- Strong Excel and data management skills (data and operations interns)
- Technology savvy – self-motivated to learn new skills using the internet (data, technology, and operations interns)
Qualifications
Internship applicants must be enrolled (rising sophomore-senior) in an undergraduate institution.
When applying for the internship, your cover letter must address which department(s) you are applying to intern for and why you are interested in joining this department.
Resume, cover letter, transcript, and the contact information of two references are required.
Resumes and cover letter must be uploaded through the online application. Transcripts and references may be attached to your cover letter, or emailed to: ashley.roberts(at)ascendlearning.org. The application deadline is April 17, 2019.
Compensation
Ascend offers a $2,400 stipend for 10 weeks (early June-early august). Interns work Monday-Thursday from 10am-5pm.
Ascend is committed to building a diverse and inclusive community, both through our hiring practices and our focus on creating a culture and environment where diverse perspectives, ideas, and identities are valued and integrated into our way of working and educating students. Ascend staff represent a wide diversity of racial, socio-economic, gender, religious, and national identities—opening a window to the entire Ascend community on the richness of humanity. We welcome all applicants who share our mission and vision to join us in our deeply consequential work.