Overview

The Organization

At Thrive Scholars, our goal is to see talented economically disadvantaged BIPOC students develop inter-generational wealth and financial security and become the diverse corporate, civic, and academic leaders our country so desperately needs. 

Our comprehensive, data-driven, high-touch program model focuses on the key inflection points that can be the difference between graduating from college and graduating from a top college with the grades, degree, career skills, and networks needed to thrive in any career. Throughout our six-year program, Scholars benefit from admissions guidance and intensive academic preparation before college, and a comprehensive set of academic, personal, social-emotional, financial, and career supports throughout college – all meant to contribute to their economic mobility, starting from their very first job post-graduation. 

(Please read Thrive’s Economic Mobility Statement below.)

The Program

Thrive Academies is one of three programs offered by Thrive Scholars to support high-achieving students of color to maximize their potential and achieve upward economic mobility through education. 

Admitted in grade 11, students attend two six-week commuter summer programs at a host college or university,  the summer before senior year and the summer before college freshman year. At its core, Thrive Academy is a college academics readiness program where students learn the quantitative and writing skills they need to excel in college and in their preferred majors.  The program also includes education and resources students need to apply to selective colleges and universities. This year, we expect to serve 150 students in each of the two locations of our inaugural cohorts of Thrive Academy. 

The Opportunity

We are seeking multiple English Professors to each teach two sections of a Writing course of approximately 25-30 students, focused on helping our Scholars further develop the writing skills they will need to excel in literacy-based courses at a selective college. Each section of the course will meet between 12-15 hours per week and will include a combination of professor-led instruction and opportunities for students to engage in hands-on and collaborative work specifically meant to ready them for the most frequent and meaningful modes of study in college. 

The Writing Professor will be supported by two college readiness teaching assistants (TAs), who may be undergraduate students, graduate students, or college instructors.  The Professor and TAs are expected to be present for the entirety of the program and course time each day, and available for a minimum of 4 hours of office hours during the week. 

The Writing  Professor and TAs will be expected to participate in virtual and in-person pre-summer onboarding sessions as well as an on-campus orientation at the beginning of the summer. The professor will also be expected to plan their course (in collaboration with other instructors and the Director of Faculty at Thrive) before the program begins. Professors and TAs will also be accountable for administering growth-oriented common assessments and meeting shared learning outcomes, while still maintaining autonomy over instructional methods and day-to-day coursework. 

It is crucial to note that the Thrive  Academy environment provides a bridge between high school and college – it is not exactly one or the other.  The majority of Scholars in our programs are minors. We want Scholars to experience and practice a new level of agency and responsibility, but we are also responsible for their well-being and their full participation in our program. Professors must maintain Thrive’s expectations for Scholar attendance and engagement, and they should act as partners in our mission. Professors are also expected to participate fully in required meetings and collaboration sessions and to interact collegially with Thrive permanent staff and seasonal staff as well as with campus employees.

Salary: The Writing  Professor will be paid $18,500 compensation for the training and teaching. This is a local position, no housing will be provided for visiting professors

Location: Hosted at the University of Southern California

The Program dates for scholars are tentatively scheduled for Monday – Friday from 8 am -5 pm, Monday, June 24th – Friday, August 2nd, 2024. Thrive Academies LA will be in recess July 4th – 5th 2024. 

Professors will begin May 27th, 2024 with training and the screening process for working with minors 

 Qualifications and Experience: 

  • Track record of success teaching calculus-based courses in a selective college setting preferred
  • Track record of success teaching high school students or first-year college students required
  • Passion for and experience in working with a diverse, historically marginalized community helping them transition into higher education
  • Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States

COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement

Thrive has instituted a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all employees, including remote staff. Individuals selected for job opportunities must be fully vaccinated and up to date, per CDC guidelines, and will be required to provide proof of vaccination status in advance of your hire date. 

If you are unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons or sincerely-held religious beliefs, Thrive will consider requests for reasonable accommodations consistent with our policy.  Accommodation requests cannot be guaranteed, Thrive will consider requests where we are able to provide such accommodations without undue hardship to the organization pursuant to applicable law.  Any such accommodation must be approved in advance of signing an offer letter.

—

Thrive Scholars provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, age, disability, or veteran status. Knowing their importance to the success of our work, Thrive Scholars is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we aspire to build a diverse staff team and community. We strongly encourage people of all backgrounds to apply.

For more information, please visit thrivescholars.org

Thrive Scholars’ Economic Mobility Statement:

We know that everywhere in our country, there are incredibly high-achieving BIPOC students from economically disadvantaged communities who have big aspirations for their future. By virtue of everything they have achieved—academically, personally, and extracurricularly—these students demonstrate tremendous promise to continue to achieve at great levels in college and in their careers. However, as a result of structural barriers they encounter during the pivotal transitions from high school to college to career, we know that many are hindered from reaching their career ambitions and their goals of economic mobility and financial security. We understand these barriers to be complex and rooted in deep societal inequities and in systemic racism, and we believe they must be addressed at all levels—individual, institutional, and systemic.    

At Thrive Scholars, we have found that we are well-equipped to make a meaningful impact on the individual student level. As an organization, we have identified some of the main barriers that get in the way of Scholars getting that first job out of college that will position them to realize economic mobility. We have developed, over the last twenty years, key interventions, delivered through our College Access, Summer Academy, College Success, Mentorship, and Career Development programs – all aimed at helping high-achieving students from economically disadvantaged communities overcome these obstacles to experience economic mobility. This is our North Star. We do not believe that is all of the work that needs to be done at a societal or even individual level in order to promote a just society where every individual can succeed holistically, but we believe this part of it is where we as an organization should focus.