NEW YORK STATE
AMERICORPS MEMBER POSITION DESCRIPTION
Member Name:
Member Position / Title:
Community Engagement Coordinator
Position Start Date:
September 8, 2015
Position End Date:
July 15, 2016
Days / Hours of Service:
September & May-June: Monday Friday: 9am-6:30pm; October-April: Tuesday-Friday: 9am-6:30pm;
Saturday: 8am-5:30pm; July: Monday-Friday: 8am-6pm
# of Member Slots in this Position:
1
Host Site Agency Name: GO Project, Inc.
Address:
50 Cooper Square
City: New York, NY
Zip Code: 10003
Mission and Goals of Host Site Agency:
The GO Project takes an innovative, holistic and individualized approach to providing critical academic,
social and emotional learning opportunities to underperforming elementary and middle school students.
The GO Project brings 550 public school children, with limited access to resources, up to grade level
through year-round educational and family support services. Students are admitted into our learning
community beginning in the early elementary years and continue to work with our educators, social
workers and skilled volunteers through the eighth grade where they are assured successful placement
into high school. We aim to equip students with the confidence and skills they need to realize their
potential and succeed at school, at home and in life.
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Mission and Goals for the specific program the member is serving in:
The GO Project addresses the needs of our students through three mutually reinforcing strands of service
– GO Summer, GO School and GO Families. GO Summer is a rigorous, five-week, full day academic and
enrichment program lead by a staff of certified teachers. GO Summer’s instructional model includes
individualized curricula; small class size; reading, math, ESL and speech pull-out services with
specialists; and varied enrichment classes. Students continue on with GO School which is comprised of
two and a half hours of academic instruction and skill building on 22 Saturdays from October through
April. Certified teachers lead lessons, oversee small group work lead by volunteer tutors and support
relationship building between volunteer tutors and our students. GO Fundamentals is an extended
tutoring program that takes place on Saturday afternoons during the school year for students facing the
most significant academic challenges and have been identified as “promotion in doubt”. Volunteers work
one-on-one or in small groups with students based on an individualized curriculum centered on
improvement areas identified by both school day and GO educators. GO Families is a year-round social
service program integrated into all programs and designed to empower parents of participants to create
positive learning environments at home and school through proactively addressing various student
learning and behavioral challenges.
Community Need:
The GO Project vision is to close the achievement gap for all under-resourced families who have children
that are struggling in their New York City public school. The GO Project currently serves 560 students
from public schools in Lower Manhattan who are significantly underperforming in one or more key
academic area and have an inability to access adequate resources to effectively address their
educational needs. The GO Project specifically targets students who are academically at-risk, many of
whom are assigned individualized education plans (IEPs) as a result of a learning disability, speech or
language impairment, or emotional disturbance. In New York City, the graduation rate for students with
IEPs is 12.5%. This achievement gap is acute for students with special educational needs or who are
English Language Learners (ELL). The GO Project currently serves a diverse population of students:
Asian (22%); African American (13%); Hispanic (42%); Multi-racial (10%); Caucasian (9%); and Other
(4%). Eighty-nine percent of students are eligible for free/reduced lunch and 55% live in single parent
homes. Fifty-three percent have a special education classification, and 15% are identified as ELL.
Member Position Summary:
As part of the Program team reporting to the Director of Community Engagement, the Community
Engagement Coordinator will be responsible for the day-to-day operations and support for the GO Project
community-building and volunteer program. The Community Engagement Coordinator position is a 5 day
a week position, requiring work on Saturdays during the school year. The Community Engagement
Coordinator will work together with the Director of Community Engagement for recruiting, training,
supporting and retaining volunteers for GO’s programs: GO Summer, GO School, and GO Fundamentals.
The Community Engagement Coordinator will also work with the Director of Community Engagement to
build recognition and appreciation systems for the GO Project families, students, and volunteers that
comprise the GO community.
Necessary Training or Training Plan to be implemented prior to Member Placement:
All training will take place on site once the Corps member is placed with the GO Project. The
Coordinators will meet daily with the Director of Community Engagement in their first week to get a better
sense of their role and to review their daily, monthly, and year-long work goals. Additionally, the
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Coordinators will meet weekly with the Director of Community Engagement for supervision meetings
throughout their placement period.
Member Impact:
The Community Engagement Coordinator will work with the Director of Community Engagement to both
sustain and build the GO Project’s community-building and volunteer program. Volunteers are also
essential to our mission of activism and service as a way to create social change. The GO Project was
founded by volunteers in 1968 and volunteers remain and integral part of our programming philosophy
today. The GO Project is committed to building the community in the culturally rich, ethnically diverse
geographic area that we serve. We believe it is critical to create opportunities for shared experience for
our volunteers who, together, share a commitment to solving the issues facing public education in New
York City. The Community Engagement Coordinator will work with the Director of Community
Engagement to create a meaningful program for volunteers that will encourage a lifetime of service and
involvement in their community. Additionally, the Community Engagement Coordinator will work with the
Director of Community Engagement to Through their work, the Community Engagement Coordinator will
enable the GO Project to extend its reach in the community and build stronger partnerships that will
benefit our students and families, and ultimately, the community as a whole.
Essential Functions of Position:
Specific tasks include, but are not limited, to the following: GO Families & Student Engagement • Develop
and implement a well-coordinated and effective recognition strategy for students and families • Research
upcoming events at partner public schools in order to develop stronger family engagement strategies
within the schools • Support in the facilitation of parent and student focus groups in order to gain more
insight to develop program improvements • Create a survey for parents and students in order to gain
more feedback on their GO experience • Work with the members of the Program Team in order to
determine family and student needs so that these can be addressed through GO Project services or
outside collaborations • Contact families, as needed, for necessary paperwork, to follow up on
attendance, or other engagement needs Volunteer Recruitment • Develop and implement a wellcoordinated and effective strategy for recruiting volunteers for both GO programs and GO administration
(as needed) • Demonstrate and enthusiastically communicate to prospective volunteers a thorough
understanding of GO, and the benefits and merits of volunteering for GO • Design strategies to enable
GO Project to appropriately tailor recruitment marketing to various sectors • Devise and implement
additional recruitment strategies to access new sources of volunteers • Research various advertising
mediums and place advertisements accordingly • Conduct extensive outreach and networking via phone,
correspondence, an in-person meetings with undergraduate and graduate schools, service organizations,
and affinity groups to build the visibility of GO Project and its programs and to attract potential volunteers •
Attend volunteer fairs targeted to maximize tutor recruitment • Work closely with program staff to ascertain
program recruitment needs • Perform reference checks on volunteers • Work towards goal of recruiting 20
GO Parent Volunteers, 20 Grace Church/Independent School Partner Volunteers, 20 GO Alumni
volunteers • Ensure there are at least 4 volunteers per classroom during GO School and close to 1-to-1
for GO Fundamentals • Ensure diversity of volunteer base to mirror the GO Project student body with
focus on recruitment of Spanish and Chinese speaking volunteers • Recruit volunteers specifically
trained/prepared for work with middle school students Volunteer Training and Support • Support the
Director of Community Engagement in conducting an orientation to all volunteers for GO School and GO
Fundamentals on the first day of the program, with alternate dates for a presentation to those who are not
present at the first orientation • Support the Director of Community Engagement in conducting on-going
orientations during GO School and GO Fundamentals • Facilitate monthly meetings that are offered to
support the volunteers • Be available to provide on-going support to volunteers • Conduct volunteer
observations of all classes twice during GO School and once during GO Fundamentals • Work with GO
administrators to address and resolve any challenges that may arise between volunteers and GO staff •
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Coordinate technical and educational training opportunities/workshops for volunteers with program staff •
Prepare and send weekly volunteer email and newsletter (print version) • Work with other program team
members to ensure teacher-volunteer meetings are happening monthly • Ensure placement, training, and
support for all class Volunteer Leaders (1 per class) • Support the Director of Community Engagement in
facilitating volunteer focus groups Volunteer Attendance and Retention • Support Director of Community
Engagement to ensure volunteer attendance with goal of at least 80% attendance during GO School and
90% during GO Fundamentals • Monitor volunteer placement and provide supervision as necessary to
ensure volunteers have the necessary resources to fulfill their commitment • Ensure that at least 95% of
volunteers report having a positive experience • Collaborate with teachers, Directors of Curriculum and
Instruction, Director of Development, Director of Academics and Enrichment, Director of GO Families to
elicit feedback and suggestions on ways to improve the volunteer experience • Conduct a minimum of two
volunteer recognition events during GO School (per site) and 1 during GO Fundamentals Public School
Partnerships & Engagement • Work with Director of Community Engagement to identify events at which
the GO Project staff can engage with their public school partners • Attend public school events to engage
with staff and families, as requested Program Evaluation • Prepare a volunteer evaluation form for the use
of the teachers and administrators to determine effectiveness of the individual volunteers • Support with
the tracking of information in the Community Engagement monthly snapshot and accompanying report
which highlight program successes and outline steps for improvement as needed Administrative • Attend
weekly program and staff meetings • Support special events and activities including, but not limited to, the
GO Project Annual Benefit, Young Professionals Event, donor tours, corporate volunteer days, the
Holiday Party, and summer barbeques (times and dates to be determined) • Ensure timely response to
GO Project emails and phone calls • Perform other responsibilities as requested by the senior staff
Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
• Significant capacity to serve as a coach and mentor to volunteers • Excellent interpersonal,
organizational, oral and written communication skills • Ability to manage relationships with a diverse set of
community stakeholders – parents, teachers, school officials, housing officials, and neighborhood leaders
• Familiarity with diverse cultural backgrounds • Bi-lingual (Spanish/Chinese) preferred
Required Academic and Experience Qualifications:
• BA Required • Experience in general position in a youth development organization and/or elementary
school • Experience with strengths-based, holistic approach to education and youth development
Does the AmeriCorps member serving in this position have recurring access to vulnerable
populations?
Yes
Corporation for National & Community Service 45 CFR Parts 2510, 2522, 2540, 2551,and 2552 states that all
national service grantees must conduct at least two-part (National Sex Offender Public Registry (NSOPR) and State
repository check, through approved source) National Service Criminal History checks on all employees, participants,
and others who receive a salary, national service education award, living allowance, or stipend under Corporation
grants, even if the activities don’t involve service with vulnerable populations. The NSOPR must be completed prior
to the employee or member beginning employment or service and the State repository check must be initiated prior
to the employee or member beginning employment or service.
No later than 60 days after publication of the new regulations, all employees, participants, and others who receive a
salary, national service education award, living allowance, or stipend under Corporation grants who began
employment or were selected for service on or after April 21, 2011 , and who will perform assigned duties in contact
with vulnerable populations with regular frequency, must undergo three-part Criminal History checks, including FBI,
State repository through approved source, and NSOPR checks. The Corporation defines vulnerable populations as
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children age 17 years or younger; individuals age 60 years or older; or individuals with disabilities. The Corporation
defines ‘‘episodic’’ as access that is not a regular, scheduled, and anticipated component of an individual’s position
description.
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