The Village Method Program Coordinator III Hayward, CA · Part time Company website

Apply for Program Coordinator III

The Village Method (https://thevillagemethod.org) is a community-based grassroots organization with a mission dedicated to making youth unstoppable. Our goal is to operate as a conduit using African-centered approaches building capacity for social change and the advancement of youth, families, and community-based organizations working together to develop sustainable academic and cultural pipelines from elementary to college, from college to career, and back to their community. We do this by offering tuition-free, culturally responsive Youth Development, Family Engagement, and Community Outreach programming.

WHO WE ARE

If you grew up in a barbershop, a church fellowship hall, a step show, a cookout where the elders held court and the little ones ran wild and safe at the same time, you already know what we are building. ASHE is that room. We are looking for the person who can teach in it.

The Village Method is an African-centered youth development organization working in curriculum design, culturally affirming education, and building spaces where Black and Brown kids get to be brilliant on purpose. We run ASHE under the Freedom Through the Arts banner for scholars in grades K-8 across Atlanta Metro and the Bay Area.

ASHE carries Asé, the West African understanding that every person moves through the world with divine life force in them. We build every lesson around that idea, tying each one back to a real person or place from the African Diaspora, past or present, so scholars see themselves in what they are learning instead of learning around themselves.

THE ROLE

The Village Method is hiring a Program Coordinator to teach ASHE at our elementary sites through our long-standing partnership with Hayward Unified School District. ASHE runs 16 weeks, one day a week at each site, serving scholars in 3rd through 6th grade.

This is a teaching job. You are the one in front of the room. You deliver the weekly enrichment lesson, you run the activity, you keep 3rd through 6th graders engaged for 90 minutes on a Tuesday afternoon when they have already been in school all day. That takes a particular kind of person. Fun is not a bonus here. It is the instructional strategy.

You report to the Program Manager, who owns the site relationship, the family relationship, and the season plan. You enhance the classroom experience and relationship with the scholars.

THE SEASON

This is a part-time, seasonal position for the 2026-27 school year. ASHE runs 16 weeks of programming, October through May, with training and development beginning in September. You will cover two elementary sites, one program day per site each week.

The position is aligned to our program contract with Hayward Unified School District and concludes when that contract term is complete. There is a chance of continued service into the summer and the fall season. We want to be straight with you up front that continuation is possible and not guaranteed.

Every session moves the same current: welcome and snack, Harambee, enrichment activity, scholar support time, dismissal. You carry the teaching inside that flow.

A typical week runs 11 to 14 hours:

• 5 hours on site. Two sessions, roughly 2.5 hours each, including prep and close-out, with 1.5 hours of teaching time per session
• 3 to 4 hours of lesson preparation. Materials, activity setup and lesson planning with the Program Manager
• 2 to 3 hours of scholar and family follow-up. Check-ins, session notes and communication the Program Manager asks you to carry
• 1 to 2 hours of team and site work. Volunteer support, attendance and session records
• Paid training in September ahead of the season, plus periodic coaching and check-ins with your Program Manager

HOW TO APPLY

Send a resume and a short note to [email protected] with the subject line “ASHE Program Coordinator.” Tell us about a lesson you taught that actually landed, how you handle a room that is losing focus, and why this work matters to you.

We are not looking for perfect resumes. We are looking for someone who already does this work in their community and wants to do it with structure, support and a team behind them.

The Village Method is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a team that reflects the communities we serve and to a workplace grounded in dignity, respect and belonging. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Classroom instruction

• Teach the weekly enrichment lesson using TVM’s lesson format: Objective, Materials, Pre-Questions, Introduction, Activity, Sharing and Reflection
• Anchor every lesson to a real person or place from the African Diaspora, past or present
• Prepare materials and set up the activity before scholars walk in
• Hold a group of 3rd through 6th grade scholars for a full 90-minute block and keep them with you the whole way
• Read the room in real time and adjust pacing, energy and grouping when the lesson needs it
• Adjust your instruction for scholars with different backgrounds, learning styles and support needs
• Coach scholars into Innovator, Analyst and Specialist thinking through how you show up in the room
• Build real relationship with the same group of scholars across all 16 weeks

Session flow and scholar support

• Co-lead Harambee with the Program Manager and set the tone the second scholars walk in the door
• Run scholar support time so it stays consistent in tone with the rest of the session
• Redirect behavior in a way that keeps the scholar in the room and keeps their dignity intact
• Notice the scholar who is quiet, off, or checked out, and tell the Program Manager
• Support volunteers and guest artists during the session so they know where to be and what to do

Program operations

• Take attendance and complete session notes the same day
• Track which lessons landed and which did not, and bring that to lesson planning
• Care for site supplies and materials and flag what needs restocking
• Contribute scholar stories and program data to funder and district reporting through the Program Manager
• Protect scholar confidentiality and follow all school and organizational expectations

Family and team

• Greet families at pickup and drop-off and know scholars’ people by name
• Share what is going well with the Program Manager so families hear good news, not only concerns
• Participate in September training, periodic coaching and season debriefs
• Support family touchpoints across the season: orientation, showcases and end-of-season celebration

Required Skills

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• Experience leading students in a classroom. This is the requirement we will not move on. You have stood in front of a group of children and taught, whether that was a school classroom, an afterschool site, a summer program, a church or a community space
• Two or more years of teaching, youth development or expanded learning experience, formal or built from the ground up
• You know Black community. Not from a training module, from living in it and moving through it
• You are fun to learn from. Scholars want to be in your room and you know how to earn that every week
• You can teach a prepared lesson and stay flexible inside it when the room calls for something else
• You hold structure and warmth in the same hand, and you carry discipline and love together
• Comfortable being coached. You take feedback from your Program Manager and use it the next week
• You show up, on time, every time. Consistency is the whole model, and scholars feel it when it is missing
• You are good with a background check and Live Scan clearance. We are in elementary schools
• Reliable transportation between sites

Preferred Skills

Classroom teaching experience in an elementary setting

Experience with Africana studies, ethnic studies, arts integration, STEM enrichment or rites of passage programming

Familiarity with Hayward, Southern Alameda County or Bay Area community-based education

Comfort with Google Workspace and program tracking tools

Soft Skills

Has led students in a classroom and is comfortable being the one teaching

Makes learning fun on purpose, because that is what holds a room

Makes every scholar feel seen

Holds structure and warmth together, and holds discipline and love together

Reads the room and adjusts the lesson in real time

Takes coaching from a Program Manager and applies it

Builds real relationships with the same scholars across a full season

Notices when a scholar needs more than the room can give and says so

Already does this work in their community

Qualifications

Demonstrated experience leading students in a classroom setting

Two or more years of teaching, mentoring or youth development experience, credentialed or built from the ground up

Ability to teach and hold a room of 3rd through 6th grade scholars for a 90-minute block

Skills in lesson delivery, classroom management and scholar engagement

Works under the direction of a Program Manager

Clears a background check and Live Scan, since you are in elementary schools

Reliable attendance and punctuality, since consistency is the model