Writing and Math Partners (WAMP) Coordinator

University of Illinois - Education Justice Project•Champaign, IL

8d•$31•Onsite

About The Position

The Education Justice Project (EJP), a unit of the College of Education, offers educational programs to individuals incarcerated at Danville Correctional Center. EJP is seeking a coordinator to help manage its Writing and Math Partners (WAMP) program at Danville Correctional Center. The WAMP program functions as a tutoring center that supports students, believing that learning is a lifelong process and that writing and math are important thinking tools involving collaborative, reciprocal engagement. The program fosters an environment where writing, reading, communicating, and thinking are closely intertwined, offering students space to articulate ideas, strategies for self-revision, and room to claim their voice and agency as lifelong learners.

Requirements

Hold a Bachelor’s degree
Have tutoring experience or comparable instructional experience
Exhibit strong interpersonal and online communication skills
Maintain a working knowledge of software for basic business contexts, including Google applications (Calendar), and Microsoft Office (Word and Excel)
Be capable of obtaining clearance from the Department of Corrections
Demonstrate an active commitment to social justice

Nice To Haves

Hold an advanced degree
Have experience in coordinating staff or volunteers
Be familiar with multiple approaches to teaching and tutoring writing and/or math

Responsibilities

Manage and support WAMP tutors to adequately staff WAMP sessions each week; provide ongoing support of tutors; organize occasional gatherings to promote problem-solving and idea-sharing.
Oversee the development and implementation of WAMP tutor onboarding and training.
Track and update WAMP-related files such as program applications, records of attendance at WAMP sessions, and documents pertaining to WAMP recruitment, training, policy, and letters of commitment.
Maintain an active awareness of best practices regarding community learning centers, writing centers, and other allied forms of learning spaces.
Attend and participate in monthly EJP coordinator meetings, yearly EJP coordinator retreat, and other EJP leadership activities.
Regularly evaluate performance with respect to communication, monitoring, nurturing, and decision-making.
Communicate information, concerns, and announcements with EJP students, program members, EJP Academic Director, members of the public, and relevant others, experimenting with ways to share and hear from others in the prison environment.
Monitor and assess the program, making fixes as problems arise, collecting information to learn how things are going, and making changes as required.
Work with program members to create and evaluate annual SMART goals.
Guide, mentor, and support EJP members in the program, identifying those in particular need of nurturing or mentoring and developing a nurturing culture within the program.
Exercise leadership and take initiative, potentially making bold decisions regarding programming or operations, and developing themselves as leaders.