Innovation Fellow at Slope School

Curious and passionate individuals who have a deep love of learning and working with children are invited to apply for Slope School’s Innovation Fellowship program. The ideal candidate is a highly capable young professional with a strong bias toward innovation and action, and a passion for transforming the education/learning space.

Many Fellows go on to lead and start new micro-schools or work in edtech, design, and related fields. The program is designed to help fellows develop the toolkit necessary to become a full-time guide and eventually the director of a school. Fellows will work as coaches and designers, creating collaborative and hands-on projects for children ages 6-14. Many fellows are hired subsequently for full-time positions. Five part-time Fellow positions are available for the 2025-26 school year.

About Slope School:

Slope School is a network of schools across the Utah Valley; with our flagship campus located in Provo, Utah and founded in 2019. Our vision is to build a leading group of K-12 micro-schools in Utah/Salt Lake counties, as Utah becomes an innovation leader for education.

Over the past 10 years, there has been a flowering of innovative “micro-schools” nationally. There’s a lab school in the Google office; Patagonia pioneered in-office early childhood learning at their headquarters; and Elon Musk started a microschool for his kids inside the SpaceX factory.

Slope School’s leadership previously led the growth of Acton Academy to become the leading global network in this space. Acton Academy was called by the Gates Foundation’s former Director of Education “one of the most important education developments in the world.”

Slope is a learner-driven community, not a traditional school. Everyone who enters the doors at Slope School, from 3 years old (our youngest learners) to 93 (our oldest collaborator, currently!), is equipped and inspired to “find a calling and change the world.” Young people at Slope learn leadership through practice: At all times, and in all functions, responsibility is pushed to the youngest person who could accomplish the function at a high level of excellence. Kindergartners lead math. Middle schoolers are hired for real projects. This paradigm shift creates a dynamic work space where young people love school and adults become coaches, as described by MIT’s Mitchel Resnick: serving as a catalyst, consultant, connector, and collaborator, not a lecturer at a blackboard. Young people from kindergarten through middle school age are comfortable leading their studios for long periods of time – even a full day – without an adult present, all at the highest standards of excellence.

With the passing of the UT-FITS scholarship, this type of educational experience becomes a financial possibility for all Utah families, beginning in the 2024-25 school year.

About the Innovation Fellowship program:

The Innovation Fellowship in the Education Space is designed to create tomorrow’s leaders for education innovation. Fellows who heed this call to adventure learn the skills necessary to lead a learning “studio” at Slope School and build and execute a high-impact “Deep Value Project” in the school. Fellows work towards mastering the role of a Guide as they build their personal toolbox and participate in the most important functions of the school, including Core Skills, Montessori works, Quest, Socratic discussions, Excursions, and Writer’s Workshop.

Fellows pair 1-to-1 with a mentor (Lead Guide) and immediately receive stewardships to lead meaningful, distinct projects and responsibilities within the organization. This “learn by doing” approach pairs with intentional study, reflection, and discussion, both as a cohort with other Fellows and as an individual, through regularly scheduled training and research.

Fellowship Start Date Options:

• Start date: February 24th, 2025
• Start date: April 14, 2025
• Start date: August 4, 2025

A fellow will work 20 hours per week for a total of six weeks. The first six weeks are designed as a trial period where the fellow and Slope School can decide together if an extended fellowship is a good fit.

We expect Fellows to arrive “on time every time,” request schedule adjustments to their Lead Guide in advance, follow through on projects, attend Team Meetings, and complete Guide Fellow Badges.

At the end of their extended fellowship, Slope hopes to hire many Fellows as full-time team members. Our aim is to provide fellows with increased skill development such that they are immediate contributors upon assuming a full-time role.