Student Voice Project Mentor- Internal Candidates Only

Salem Public Schools: Student Voice Project Mentor (2024-2025 School Year)

Salem Public Schools (SPS) is committed to amplifying student voices through our Student Voice Project (SVP) initiative. For the 2024-2025 school year, we aim to enhance the mentorship capacity across the district, building on the progress made during the previous year. This initiative will focus on creating meaningful connections through Developmental Relationships (DR), a framework from the Search Institute, and advancing student-led change through Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR). The goal is to engage students in driving transformational change within their school communities.

Position Overview:

As a Student Voice Project (SVP) Mentor, you will work closely with student leaders throughout the school year to support their participation in the Student Voice Project, which will be part of an after-school program. Program mentors will work program structure to suit each schools individual culture and program capacity. Your role will be to guide students through the YPAR process, helping them to identify and address issues in their school communities. Mentors will support students in completing research benchmarks, culminating in presentations of their findings at Student Voice Project Panels and an end-of-year the Student Voice Summit at the Peabody Essex Museum.

Responsibilities:

• Attend 3-4 professional learning sessions led by SPS Lead Mentors.
• Sessions will cover the YPAR methodology, tools for promoting social change and equity, modified curriculum resources, additional implantation tools and logistical planning for the Student Voice Summit on May 22, 2025.
• Collaborate with your co-mentor to support your program implementation to ensure equity and fidelity.
• Build trust and developmental relationships with a diverse group of students, guiding them through the YPAR process.
• Support students as they work on research projects that will be presented to school stakeholders at Student Voice Project Panels.
• Engage in ongoing collaboration with SPS Lead Mentors receiving professional development and individualized check-ins throughout the year.

Commitment:

• Lead weekly after-school programming with a group of student leaders. Programs starting the week of October 15th. 
• Participate in professional development opportunities and regular check-ins with the SVP leadership team.
• 3-4 group professional development opportunities and 1-2 check in with lead mentor 
• Mentor students through key milestones, ensuring their active engagement and growth in the project.
• Participate in quarterly Student Voice Project Panels and assist in preparing students for the end-of-year summit.

Compensation:

Mentors will be compensated for their after-school work with student leaders as well as their participation in professional development sessions.

What You’ll Bring:

We are looking for candidates who have diverse backgrounds and experiences, are inspired by our mission, and are highly motivated to change children’s lives through education. You’ll be right at home here if you are a reflective practitioner who values collaboration with colleagues and pushes yourself, your work, and the people around you to the next level.  We expect our SPS employees to:

• Hold a deep commitment to students and families and value diversity - The SPS community is vibrant, diverse in background, ethnicity, language, and perspective. You embrace and affirm the backgrounds of all members of the SPS community and view our diversity as a powerful resource that supports us each in learning and doing our best work.

• Hold high expectations for yourself, students, and colleagues – You see potential in all, especially our SPS students, and maintain high expectations for achievement, while providing the support necessary to meet that bar. You hold yourself to high expectations, modeling SPS values and seeking opportunities to continuously improve.

• Build authentic, caring relationships with colleagues, students, and families – You build strong relationships across students, families, and colleagues that are collaborative in nature and contribute to the individual and collective success of SPS.  You partner with families and colleagues to make decisions in the best interest of students and learning.

• Embrace feedback – You are a reflective practitioner who learns from mistakes and challenges and uses them as opportunities for professional development. You model persistence and a growth mindset and thrive in a culture of feedback.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Salem Public School District is committed to maintaining a work and learning environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation, genetic information or disability, as defined and required by state and federal laws. Additionally, we prohibit retaliation against individuals who oppose such discrimination and harassment or who participate in an equal opportunity investigation.