Summer Program Co-Director Apprentice

(Seasonal Position)

POSITION OVERVIEW:

Imagine a place where intellectual curiosity, social and emotional learning, and social justice intertwine to create a dynamic learning environment. Founded in 1925, Peninsula’s wooded, 6-acre campus is not just a setting; it’s a place where children from preschool through eighth grade thrive and develop to their full promise as confident contributors in the world, learn about themselves and others, discover their passions, and grow in an inclusive community rich with choices, exploration, and play. In addition to intellectual development and social and emotional learning (SEL), we educate for student choice and voice, and social justice.

Summer at Peninsula School consists of two three-week non-academic summer sessions for children entering kindergarten through eighth grade. The summer program enrolls both current Peninsula students and students coming for the summer from other schools. Each year the summer program enrolls more than two hundred students and employs more than fifty teachers and assistants!

The Summer at Peninsula School Co-Directors work together closely and report to the Head of School. The Co-Directors will begin their last year in June 2025 thus we are seeking someone to work alongside them for 2025 and then take on all Director responsibilities for 2026. The Co-Directors have primary responsibility for the management of the summer program. The majority of the work of the Co-Directors occurs between January and August. Primary responsibilities include: designing and maintaining a dynamic and attractive program that provides a safe and nurturing environment for summer students; hiring, managing, and monitoring a large, temporary staff of summer head and assistant teachers; managing online enrollment of students; planning and overseeing all program income and expenses; overseeing individual and group dynamics; and working with year-round staff and summer staff to maintain a philosophy and tenor consistent with Peninsula School’s mission and values.

General duties and responsibilities:

• Collaborate with and shadow the summer Co-Directors on every aspect of the summer program.
• Establish an atmosphere that promotes maximum staff satisfaction and growth, inspires individual contribution, and encourages team cooperation.
• Maintain a positive attitude toward staff, administration, and families while providing a safe and nurturing environment for students.
• Maintain good communication between summer staff and year-round teaching staff, administrative staff, and facilities staff regarding summer use of grounds, classrooms, office space, and equipment.

Duties and responsibilities: Program and Staffing

• Learn how to design each summer’s overall program, matching and balancing available teachers and assistants with student age groups and class subject areas.
• Support the development, recruit, and retain a pool of qualified summer head and assistant teachers, including creating request forms to capture interest, communicating class assignments, maintaining contact information, traIning and supporting summer staff, and writing letters of recommendation upon request.
• Learn to monitor and facilitate all student enrollment and attendance, including last minute changes.
• Learn to respond to student and family needs including regular communications, inquiries, class placements, emergencies and late pick-ups.
• Learn to supervise, mentor and support all summer staff and manage summer internship programs for recent Peninsula graduates including schedules and subs.
• Learn to monitor all summer staff employment legal compliance (i.e., tax and employment verification forms, TB testing, background checks, mandated reporting, work permits) and emergency information.
• Learn to coordinate with the Childcare Director regarding after school childcare settings in the online registration system and tracking of summer students attending childcare.
• Learn to coordinate emergency drills (fire, earthquake) for each class the first week of each session and manage Heat Prevention Illness training, heat waves, and emergencies (for example threats or dangerous air quality).

Duties and responsibilities: Online Portal, Enrollment and Fees

• Learn to maintain and update the summer program’s online registration and database system including dates, descriptions, fees, discounts, and membership levels (for example current students).
• Learn to manage credit card payments, refunds, and rejected payments in the online portal.

Duties and responsibilities: Finances, Record-keeping, Marketing

• Determine summer income and expense projections including class fees, staff hourly wages, and materials to create and maintain a Summer Program budget each year in collaboration with the Director of Finance and Operations.
• Maintain records of all summer staff hours for payrolls.
• Monitor income and expenses and adjust as needed depending on enrollment numbers.
• Maintain and update all summer records and statistics from year to year, reporting as requested.
• Advertise the program to the Peninsula School community and to the wider local community including on the school’s website and social media, through HotNews, ads, emails to former summer program families, and in flyers at local libraries, schools, and rec. centers.
• Attend and participate as requested in staff meetings, in-service days, administrative meetings, parent meetings, parent conferences, classroom events, open houses, class grouping meetings, and enrollment/marketing opportunities.

Qualifications:

Familiarity with progressive education pedagogy and experience working with children and in a camp environment is preferred.  The ideal candidate will possess excellent communication and organizational skills, and the ability to work both individually and within a team-oriented environment. The position calls for a high degree of attention to detail, frequent multi-tasking, and the ability to complete tasks efficiently, quickly and accurately. Our Co-Director Apprentice needs to be able to proactively welcome new families into the Peninsula community, mentor new teaching staff, and remain highly available and positively responsive to needs and concerns of the Co-Directors, students, parents, and staff.

COMPENSATION: As an apprentice, earn $35 to $40 per hour dependent on experience.

TO APPLY: Please fill out an employment application (also found on the Join Our Team page of our website https://www.peninsulaschool.org/about-us/join-our-team) and send it with a resumé and cover letter to HR@peninsulaschool.org.

Peninsula School actively promotes the principles and practices of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging throughout the school community. We are an equal-opportunity employer and encourage people from under-represented groups to apply.

Peninsula School | 920 Peninsula Way, Menlo Park, CA, 94025 | 650-325-1584 | www.peninsulaschool.org