NYC Jumpstart FAO Schwarz Fellow
About the Fellowship
The NYC Jumpstart FAO Schwarz Fellow will strengthen and expand Jumpstart’s direct service programming through their traditional classroom model and community events, and engage in policy advocacy initiatives for their special project work.
Jumpstart’s requires a regular daily Monday – Friday work schedule, 40 hours per week (i.e., 8:00-4:00, 9:00-5:00, etc). Comp time is provided when evening or weekend events or activities arise.
Direct Service
The FAO Schwarz Fellow will help implement Jumpstart’s research-backed programming and support readings, activities, and lessons, helping children develop key language, literacy, and social-emotional skills.
The Fellow will:
- Strengthen Jumpstart’s relationships with like-minded community organizations, by attending meetings and collaborating on co-hosted events in NYC.
- Identify and build community partnerships to support events and help Jumpstart grow our reach
- Coordinate and co-lead literacy events (including on Jumpstart’s Read for the Record Day, our national literacy campaign) to help grow the number of children and families Jumpstart serves.
- Coordinate and co-lead family engagement workshops and modeling educational reading activities.
- Attend Jumpstart summer sessions, overseeing summer family programming, and providing training and support for Jumpstart’s summer Corps Members
- Work directly with young children in classrooms through the administration of the Test of Early Preschool Literacy (TOPEL) assessment in the fall and spring
Special Project
The FAO Schwarz Fellow will engage in policy advocacy initiatives to inspire public support and investment in high-quality early learning and advocate for a range of issues crucial to the children and families they serve, including the early childhood education workforce and higher education access.
The Fellow will:
- Track and research relevant policy developments in their respective cities and states and on the national level, producing a Policy Newsletter available every two weeks to Jumpstart staff
- In partnership with local staff and policy department leaders, build and maintain relationships with the elected and appointed officials and other advocacy organization partners in their state and engage in advocacy to advance the department’s policy and public funding objectives
- In coordination with the Director of Civic Engagement & Advocacy and the Senior Director of Alumni Relations, develop and execute strategies to engage Jumpstart alumni in advocacy activities
- Make links between the direct service community work and policy, including inviting elected officials to community events
- Contribute to internal and external communications describing policy developments and the impact of the Policy and Government Relations department