Academic Coach Intern

Job Description

***THIS IS AN UNPAID INTERNSHIP. PLEASE DO NOT APPLY IF YOU ARE SEEKING COMPENSATION.***

BACKGROUND: The staff of the IRC Dallas office works as a team to provide comprehensive resettlement services- including case management, employment and immigration services to newly arrived refugees, asylees, and victims of human trafficking as they begin to rebuild their lives in the Dallas area. The Academic Coaching Program will provide refugee youth between the ages of 15-22 with year-round academic support, literacy training, and enrichment activities. It will also equip their families with resources and support services to enable them to navigate the public education system in Dallas.

SCOPE OF WORK: The Academic Coaching Program provides refugee youth between the ages of 15-22 with academic support, literacy training, psychosocial support and enrichment activities. It also equips their families with resources and support services to enable them to navigate the public education system in Dallas. The goal of the Academic Coaching program is to help recently arrived refugee and immigrant youth adapt successfully to Dallas area and educational institutions while giving them the tools and opportunities they need to grow in their academics, regulate emotions, and expand their social circles. Academic Coaches work directly with refugee families and school personnel to guide students and their families through the education system and empower them to thrive in their new setting.

The Academic Coach (intern) will serve as the central point of contact, providing one-on-one support services to the student and their family. The Coach will advocate on behalf of the student to ensure they have access to and information on a variety of topics including school, after-school tutoring, sports teams, extracurricular activities, higher education and part-time jobs. The Coach will serve as a liaison between caregivers and school staff to set up parent-teacher conferences and ensure the student is in appropriate classes, attending regularly and monitor student academic progress. When necessary, the Academic Coach will refer clients to other service providers and connect them with relevant resources. The Academic Coach will meet clients in their homes to look over homework, practicing English, learn about American culture, conduct screeners, and facilitate positive cultural identity activities. Maintaining comprehensive case notes and working with interpreters will be required frequently.

The Academic Coach intern position is for at least two consecutive semesters in order to provide continuous services to coaching clients. Please indicate in your cover letter if you are applying for the fall-spring block (Sept-May) or spring-summer block (Jan-Aug). We do not offer this internship for a summer-fall block (May-Dec).

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:

- Conduct student and caregiver assessments in order to set a baseline for growth and a starting point for service provision. - Establish an individual service plan for the academic year with newly arrived refugee youth and their family; provide mentoring, guidance, advocacy, mediation, social activities, and secure translation/interpretation, as needed, for students and their family. - Track grades and attendance, advocate for and connect students to relevant resources - Teach English one-on-one and provide academic tutoring to help students succeed with their schoolwork. - Engage in conversations with students and facilitate activities to teach positive coping mechanisms. - Facilitate caregiver involvement in children’s education through phone calls, home visits, and other mechanisms, including attending Parent/Teacher conferences and IRC Caregiver Workshops. - Provide or secure interpretation services as needed to address issues involving children’s education. - Maintain comprehensive case notes and regularly update family’s individual service plan to respond to students’ academic, material, and special case management needs. - Participate in staff development and team meetings.

REQUIREMENTS

- MUST BE FULLY VACCINATED against COVID-19 (2 doses Pfizer or Moderna) and wear a mask at all times while on the clock, while around clients and staff, and on IRC property. - Be open-minded to working with a culturally and linguistically diverse client population, mostly 15-22 year-olds, and their parents/caregivers. - Minimum of 15 hours per week for two full semesters, from January - August 2022 (spring/summer). - Be willing to work in person at the IRC office as well as in the field, meeting with high school refugee students and their parents at their homes and schools - Be available to intern in the after-school hours (3-7pm weekdays) and on some Saturday mornings

WORKING ENVIRONMENT:

Standard office work environment combined with evenings spent tutoring and visiting in the homes of clients. One Saturday a month will be spent attending field trips in locations around Dallas.

Unfortunately at this time we are unable to offer compensation for this internship. Thank you for your understanding that this is a practicum placement for growing social service and teaching professionals.

Qualifications

REQUIREMENTS:

- Must be willing to work in-person, and practice masking and social distancing at all times while interning. - Currently pursuing a Baccalaureate or Master's degree in social work or education. (Highly preferred, but not required.) - Willingness to work 2-3 evenings a week, and one Saturday a month. - Experience working with youth, specifically in the context of educational and social programs. - Experience working with refugee and/or immigrant populations. - Understanding of the need to approach and apply case management methods with the goal of client self-sufficiency and sustainability. - Ability to work independently. - Fluency in a second language such as Swahili, Kinyarwanda, French, Spanish, Farsi, Arabic, Burmese or Nepali is highly desirable but not required. - The the ability to travel regularly throughout the service delivery area (northeast Dallas).

DEMONSTRATED SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES: