Job Overview/Summary: The Newcomer Youth Summer Academy (NYSA) is a six-week program that prepares newly arrived refugee youth to succeed at their grade level in the New York City public school system. Up to 130 students aged 5 – 21 from over 20 countries will participate in academic, creative arts, physical education, and other academic classes. Field trips are held on Fridays.

Classroom Culture Lead Teachers (CCLT) play an important role, leading classroom culture, rituals, and routines. CCLTs work with middle school and high school students, providing support and continuity throughout the program serving as a hybrid of homeroom teacher and guidance counselor. CCLTs are responsible for planning and leading daily mindfulness sessions at the start and end of every day and leading their class on field trips on Friday. From Monday to Thursday, CCLTs for Middle/High School will be responsible for teaching, providing student support in and out of the classroom and lunch monitoring.

CCLTs are directly responsible for behavior management in alignment with Academy philosophy and classroom guidelines. They are responsible for monitoring student well-being and progress. During their lessons, they are responsible for guiding their classroom Peer Mentors, and they play a critical role in ensuring consistent, timely communication among Academic Lead Teachers, Peer Mentors, Administration, and students’ families.

Classroom Culture Lead Teachers are responsible for observing, assessing, recording, and monitoring students’ individual progress in academic and social emotional assets. This requires a holistic understanding of the student as well as IRC’s School Readiness indicators, gathering input from other staff to assess individual students’ growth and needs.

Major Responsibilities:

• Participate in mandatory school programing.
• Participate in collaborative planning sessions, all staff training and program meetings.
• Plan and lead whole-group culture, SEL, and relationship building mini-lessons
• Plan and lead lessons for students on various topics related to the NYSA theme, standards and curricula
• Support students’ social‑emotional development through individual and small‑group counseling.
• Identify and address student needs related to behavior, attendance, mental health, or social challenges, referring to outside services when appropriate.
• Collaborate with teachers, administrators, and families to create strategies that support student success.
• Maintain accurate documentation of interventions and observations via case notes
• Implement individualized student support plans and track interventions over time in collaboration with the Student Support Team
• Participate in multidisciplinary teams (e.g., MTSS/RTI teams, student support teams) to coordinate wraparound services
• Serve as a focal point in the classroom for peer mentors, providing guidance and direction on how they can best support student learning and well being
• Collaborate with IRC Staff and teaching staff in monitoring student progress throughout the program and assist with communications with parents about progress.
• Be primary teaching staff providing student progress reports during parent teacher conferences.
• Complete pre- and post-School Readiness observational assessments for each student in assigned class
• Collaborate with Academic Lead Teacher(s) in planning and reviewing student progress
• Lead classroom climate in accordance with Academy philosophy and protocols
• Lead and supervise students on field trips by ensuring the highest standards of student safety and well‑being throughout the outing.
• Manage dismissal protocols
• Supervise students during breakfast, lunch, early care and after school hours as needed
• Pending demand, provide early and/or after-care supervision to a cohort of students
• Substitute as needed for colleague’s classes
• Engage in instructional coaching cycles and participate in weekly Classroom Culture Lead Teacher meetings
• Complete All Staff Survey to provide feedback on NYSA
• Comply with all IRC policies and protocols
• Other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Education or related field preferred; candidate for Master’s degree in related field preferred
• 2+ years of classroom teaching experience and experience working with social work, case management, school psychology and guidance counseling strongly desired
• Experience teaching English Language Learners/multilingual learners strongly desired
• Experience with curriculum creation strongly desired
• Familiarity teaching in New York City public schools is strongly desired
• Certification/experience with Responsive Classrooms or Classroom Mindfulness desired
• Strong relationship building and classroom management skills strongly desired
• Experience working with refugee and/or immigrant populations strongly desired
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Highly organized, dependable, responsive, and collaborative work style
• Second language proficiency in relevant language highly desirable (Arabic, Dari, Farsi, French, Fulani, Haitian Creole, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian)
• Strength in cultural humility-building
• All hiring is contingent on passing a background checks and submission of an annual physical form.
  • If the school is located at a New York City Public School site, additional fingerprinting may be required.

Working Environment: NYSA takes place in a centrally located school (TBD) in New York City. All applicants must be willing to relocate to the New York City area for the entirety of the Academy.

Union Eligible:
This position is represented by the OPEIU union and subject to the terms and conditions of a collective bargaining agreement.

Compensation: (Pay Range: $27.50) Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Professional Standards: All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

US Benefits: We offer the following benefits to short term employees in the US: 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching, sick leave, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.