2025 Camp Teaching Artist

At Caldera, we believe in the power of creativity. Our mission is to inspire and support youth from underserved rural and urban communities by awakening the potential of their creative voice. We do this through a unique fusion of art, environment and mentorship. Our Youth Program provides students from Portland and Central Oregon with long-term relationships with caring adults, which nurtures individual creativity, beginning in sixth grade and continuing into young adulthood.

As part of Caldera’s summer learning team, you will gain leadership, communication, and collaboration skills and unparalleled resiliency while building meaningful relationships with young learners and adults. You’ll have daily opportunities to expand your own creativity and sense of adventure, upheld in a supportive community full of networking opportunities. During your time off, you’ll be centrally located in Oregon’s playground for play in the Cascade Mountains, sampling local flavor, or simply relaxing on Caldera’s 116 acres of awe-inspiring property.

Position Title: Teaching Artist

Supervisor: Camp Artistic Director

Compensation:

• Salary/Rate of Pay: $154/day, with 1% increase for each year of experience working at Camp Caldera (not to exceed 7%); plus one planning day added to first check upon curriculum submission
• Training Salary/Rate of Pay: $50-75/day
• Room and board provided during days with programming; room only during non-programming days. A light dinner will be provided on staff arrival days. Brunch is served on the last day of each session.

Location: This is a seasonal position at our Arts Center- 31500 Blue Lake Drive, Sisters, OR 97756 (transportation not provided).

Choose one or more sessions; placement is dependent on availability & scheduling (must be available for all dates in session(s) chosen). Must be available for training dates and on the following dates and times to start each session:

• PORTLAND Staff Training June 23-26
• SISTERS Staff Training July 1-2
• Arrive between 1:00-2:00 pm July 6* for the Immersion 1 (High School) session July 7-16
• Arrive between 4:00-5:00 pm July 19* for the immersion 2 (High School) session July 20-28
• Arrive between 4:00-5:00 pm July 31* for the Discovery 1 (Middle School) session Aug 1-8
• Arrive between 4:00-5:00 pm Aug 11* for the Discovery 2 (Middle School) session Aug 12-19
• Indicates Half day compensation

Sample Daily Schedule:

7:00-7:30 Supervise youth shower time

7:30 Morning wake up bell (Wake up youth up and get ready for the day)

7:45-8:00 Kitchen Prep

8:00-8:30 Breakfast
8:40-9:15 Community Circle
9:30-12:30 Support during Class Rotation or Break

12:55-1:15 Lunch
1:15-1:45 Staff meeting

1:45-3:00 Lead Free Time Activity

3:10-6:10 Support during Class Rotation or Break
6:10-7:00 Dinner
7:00-8:45 Capture the Flag or Other Evening Activity
8:45-9:45 Campfire

9:45-10:00 Youth get ready for bed (brushing teeth etc.)

10-10:15 Supervise Lantern Time (Time can vary between 10-11pm)

Position Overview:

Teaching Artists are responsible for designing and facilitating rigorous arts curriculum for middle and/or high school campers. They provide a positive learning environment and deliver engaging arts lessons that reach a diverse population.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Submit initial lesson plans, adjust based on feedback, and complete detailed, final plans at least one month prior to staff training
• Provide supply lists and other requested information by designated deadlines
• Partner with Artist Assistant (who may not have experience in your medium) to adjust curriculum, organize supplies, and oversee youth during classes
• Collaborate with Artist Assistants and Advocates around student needs to ensure smooth delivery of arts instruction
• Maintain clean, organized classroom and shared supply spaces
• Set and respect appropriate boundaries inside and outside of the class while encouraging positive risk-taking
• Alert supervisor to relevant camper issues
• Plan, set up and take down exhibition of student work
• Document, archive, and organize student work and ensure its transfer to Caldera year-round staff
• Manage setup and breakdown of arts studio
• Other duties as assigned

General Responsibilities:

• Serve as mandatory reporter, working with Youth Impact Manager to report instances or suspicion of child abuse. Caldera has a zero tolerance policy around child abuse, and any negligence will result in immediate dismissal
• Promote program understanding and involvement through Caldera’s goals and agreements, participation agreement, and responsibility process
• Actively participate in all aspects of camp life including: camper orientation, community meetings, evening activities, campfire, free time, etc.
• Model appropriate camper behavior at all times
• Perform duties with consistency and integrity
• Set and respect personal boundaries while acting as mentors, guides, and allies to campers
• Oversee health and safety of charges in fire drills and emergency procedures
• Maintain cleanliness of living and common areas and help with clean-up at the end of each session

Qualifications:

• Two years of experience teaching art to youth from underserved communities and a background in the arts, through education or profession
• Familiarity with culturally responsive and anti-oppression frameworks and experience working with racially and ethnically diverse staff and youth
• Familiarity with social-emotional learning and aesthetic principles and strong classroom management skills
• Strong communication with youth and adults and experience facilitating groups of varying skill levels
• Ability to design sequential lesson plans around artistic concepts that build creativity and youth voice
• Ability to understand our racially diverse student population’s perspective, either through lived experience, previous qualifications, or work experience
• Ability to navigate through potentially triggering and challenging conversations and situations while maintaining focus on the wellbeing of youth
• Excellent time management and organizational skills
• Ability to set appropriate boundaries in a proactive and positive manner
• Bilingual and/or bicultural skills highly preferred
• Must pass a background check. Caldera considers systemic injustices when investigating findings
• Willingness to live in a camp setting and work irregular and long hours. Additionally, you must have the ability to deal with limited cell and internet service and daily exposure to outdoor factors such as sun, heat, bugs, bats, snakes, etc.

Living Conditions:

• Requires on-site living in shared staff quarters.
• A vegetarian option (that may include eggs and/or dairy) will be available for all meals. We do our best to accommodate other dietary restrictions; however, employees with special dietary needs should plan to bring food to supplement or replace provided meals. Please address specific needs with your supervisor.
• Typical days are 10 hours in length, with sessions that make for up to 10 straight days of work without a full day off. Each staff member will have at least 1 night off per session.
• Alcohol and drugs are not permitted on campus, even in personal living quarters.

Working Conditions:

• Must be physically able to move around 116 acres of camp property with varied terrain
• Must have visual, perceptual, and cognitive ability to recognize and respond quickly to health and safety concerns of students and appropriately re-direct any behavior that is misaligned with Caldera agreements
• Employee must carry out their duties regardless of inclement weather, which can include but is not limited to, heat, rain, wind, cold, and smoky or dusty conditions.
• Moments of quiet and non-activity are few and spread out
• Creating a cohesive staff environment round the clock can be challenging. It is crucial that staff see youth and adults through a strengths-based lens and prioritize creating the best possible youth experience at all times, despite what challenges may arise at the staff level
• Physical Demands (which can include bending, stooping, hiking, climbing and stretching) are: 5% Sitting, 45% Standing, 20% Walking, 30% Lifting/Carrying/Pushing/Pulling Pounds 5 -80 lbs.

To Apply:

Complete the application and questions and provide a reference, ideally from each of the following categories: a youth serving organization, a family member, and one other professional reference. Please also submit a sample lesson plan.

Equity & Inclusion

We recognize that Caldera communities face many societal inequities. We recognize the history and ongoing impacts of racism in our country, state, and institutions. We acknowledge that we will always have room to grow as an organization and as individuals in our understanding of racism and oppression.

We commit to continually examining our role in both perpetuating and combating institutional racism. We also commit to ongoing alignment of our policies and practices to advance racial equity, inclusion, and freedom of expression.

We commit to integrating equity and inclusion into all areas of our work to better serve our mission; when we do, we get closer to the world that we want for our youth. To ensure our own accountability, we will 1) seek deeper relationships with and feedback from our larger community; 2) use our Equity Plan to guide ongoing work; and 3) apply our Equity Lens to decision-making. We will also seek inspiration from artistic and cultural traditions.

Caldera is an equal opportunity employer encouraging applicants of all backgrounds and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.

We encourage people of color and Caldera community members to apply.