Youth Education Intern

The IRC- RAI New York Office’s Youth Education department is looking for strong intern candidates to work on four core programs for youth:Youth Tools for Opportunities and Academic Development (TOAD), Youth English Classes (YESOL), Leaders in Training (LIT), and NYSA. Upon hire, interns will be assigned one of the aforementioned primary programs; all candidates should be prepared to engage fully with the responsibilities of each program as needed. 

Youth Tools for Opportunities and Academic Development (TOAD) Program: 

• The IRC Tools for Opportunities and Academic Development (TOAD) program provides academic, linguistic, and social-emotional support for newly-arrived refugee and migrant youth. TOAD encompasses 4 sub-programs within the weekly schedule: Homework Help, English Practice Workshops (EPW), Math Class, and Public Speaking and Internet Literacy. 

• Youth TOAD Intern duties include: 

• Assist in organizing and facilitating after-school and weekend TOAD  programming, focusing on areas such as English language skills, math, and other subjects as needed. 

• Youth TOAD Interns may have the opportunity to choose which role they would like to take in addition to the previously outlined duties: Curriculum, Community Event Programming, Student and Family Engagement, or Volunteer Tutor Coordination. 

Youth ESOL Program: 

• The Youth ESOL Program offers online English classes for students aged 12-21 during the school year.  We offer English classes for students with beginner and intermediate levels of English in middle school and high school. Students attend classes twice per week, and classes are held between 4:30-6pm and 6pm-7:30pm.  

• Youth ESOL Intern Duties include: 

• Support YESOL instructor in online classes, including leading small groups 

• Assist with administering English assessments for students upon entry and exit from the program. 

• Contribute to lesson development with research  

• Lead and plan in-person weekly Parent English Classes on Saturdays 

Youth Leaders in Training (LIT) Program: 

• Leaders in Training (LIT) program is a college access and career readiness program that meets once a week, and it includes workshops that support students with college applications, resume building, and more. In the Spring, the program will be focused on career readiness, and less on college access. 

• Youth Career Readiness Intern duties include: 

• Assist in organizing and facilitating weekly LIT workshops every Saturday 

• Support the Youth Education Specialist in proof-reading student work throughout the week to provide guidance to our students. 

• Assist in organizing field trips and recruiting students. 

NYSA/Mini-NYSA: 

• The Newcomer Youth Summer Academy (NYSA) is a 6-week in-person summer program for over 100 recently arrived youth in New York City. The objective of the program is to orient students to the New York City school system. Mini-NYSA is a shorter week-long program held in-person during school winter and spring breaks. In the Spring, the NYSA intern will be working with the Youth Education Supervisor to plan these programs.  

• NYSA/ Mini-NYSA Intern duties include: 

• Assist in designing the program architecture of NYSA and Mini-NYSA 

• Research field trip/ site visit opportunities in the city 

• Research MLL/ELL/SEL curricula for K-12th grade students 

All interns must: 

• Be available for Saturday in-person programming. 

• Track and document all activities related to youth education and tutoring in the appropriate internal database system. 

• Complete and submit all trainings and professional development by deadline, as assigned. 

• Uphold and promote policies and practices necessary to create a linguistically supportive, culturally responsive, trauma-informed learning environment. 

• Uphold all IRC and program and child safeguarding policies and directives. 

• Work and communicate with IRC staff and volunteers as needed. 

• Complete assigned surveys and data tracking tasks, as assigned. 

• Complete and submit a weekly timesheet on Salesforce platform to track and codify IRC volunteer hours. 

• Additional related duties as assigned. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Design and implement effective teaching strategies for multilingual classrooms 

• Understand trauma-informed education and programming 

• Engage with refugee families and communities 

• Develop assessment and monitoring and evaluation skills 

• Build nonprofit program development and volunteer management skills 

• Collaborate on professional development initiatives 

• Gain familiarity with the U.S. educational system and develop strategies for supporting refugee youth within it. 

Qualifications: 

• Current undergraduate or graduate student, or recent graduate 

• Experience or strong interest in working with refugee and immigrant communities 

• Experience teaching or working with children preferred 

• Punctuality, excellent time management skills, and a flexible schedule 

• Outstanding intercultural and interpersonal communication skills with demonstrated ability to work effectively with people from other cultural backgrounds. 

• Ability to maintain confidentiality regarding client information 

• Excellent organizational and leadership skills 

• Strong attention to detail and ability to work with minimal supervision 

• Fluency in written and spoken English required. Second language proficiency in relevant language highly desirable (including Arabic, Dari, Farsi, Pashto, French, Fulani, Haitian Creole, Mandarin, Russian, Ukrainian, Spanish) 

• All offers are contingent on successfully passing background and criminal history checks as required by federal and state law or by IRC policy. 

Commitment: 

• Start date: January 2, 2025 

• End date: May 31, 2025, with an opportunity to extend. 

• Minimum of 15 hours per week for the period of the internship. Preferences will be given to candidates who can commit to more hours.  

• Primary availabilities:  

• Monday to Friday, after-school hours preferred (3pm-7:30pm) with the ability to commit at least 2 shifts per week 

• Additional availability for team meetings and asynchronous tasks during standard work hours 

• Saturdays in-person mandatory between the hours of 10am-4pm  

• Specific schedules will be determined for each intern upon hire 

Reports To: 

Youth Education Supervisor  

Youth Education Specialists 

Youth ESOL Instructor