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Hiring: Farmer Teacher – The Farm School, Program for Visiting Schools

The Farm School, Program for Visiting Schools —  Farmer Teacher Job Opportunity

Our Program for Visiting Schools is the centerpiece of The Farm School. Each school year, over 1,500 children come to help us care for our farm during 3-day visits. The students come with their classes, in groups of up to 40 children at one time. While they are here, the students find value in real work, create a community that persists when they return to their classrooms, and experience first hand what it means to be stewards of the earth. It’s simple and it’s magical.

Role:  Farmer Teachers work in partnership with another Farmer Teacher or Farm team in 1 of 4 work areas throughout the Farm. These work areas are Kitchen/Garden, Market Garden, Barn or Forestry. Farmer Teachers lead youth through every aspect of their work area while supporting and working in collaboration with all other work areas on the farm. The role of the Farmer Teacher is to have the foresight and ability to organize your assigned work area in ways that are accessible for youth and allow youth to equally engage, side by side with you, in the core elements of the work area. This role is well suited for those that can engage youth in the moment at hand, have a sense of playfulness, can balance having a clear direction while maintaining flexibility on how to get there, can be responsible, clear and collaborative rather than authoritative, possess a good sense of boundaries, enjoys building relationships and can lead just enough to open up a youths capabilities, sense value and place on the farm.

Responsibilities: 
– To organize your work area, plans and programs in ways that uplift the FS mission and goals towards Racial Equity and Liberation
– To organize your work area, plans and programs in ways that keep youths ability to engage in the task of your work area
– To be thoughtful, respectful, dependable, collaborative in your interactions with youth, recognizing their value, autonomy and personhood
– Ability to work within a schedule that has multiple transitions
– To be reliable in meeting your scheduled commitments and in your communication when changes or support is needed
– Timely submission of receipts for programmatic purchases and professional development
– Participate in a rotation of weekend recycling and animal chores across the farm – Participate in weekly programmatic activities including options, class, chores, dish clean up, evening activities, community meetings, opening and closing circles
– Participate in vacation work week activities for your work area and group work projects that fall outside of your specific work area
– Participate in weekly staff logistical meetings and Race and Equity Within Communities focused meetings and participate in the facilitation rotation
– Participate in all Trainings, All-Staff Meetings including those on Race and Equity Within Communities
– Remain current on CPR/First Aid and Food Safety certifications in collaboration with the Program Director
– Participate in feedback, check-ins and reviews as scheduled
– Read the FS Handbook and Conflict Resolution Protocols and use them as a resources when necessary
– To bring various aspects of your hobbies, interest and identities into your work and to share these as you would like among the youth and farmer teachers.

In addition to your particular position, the unpredictable nature of farming/working with youth and our shared responsibility for the care of the farm requires that all employees engage in the process of meeting the needs of the farm/program- gardens, fields, forest, barns, bunkhouses, kitchens etc. and to do so in communication with your Program Director, Co-Directors and fellow farmer/teachers.

Compensation and Benefits include: $31,200 annual salary, housing, health insurance, professional development funds, farm grown food, sick time and 7 weeks paid vacation.

Please send cover letter and resume to jobs@farmschool.org. We are looking to fill this position as soon as possible, in advance of our fall programming, which begins September 2021.

We serve diverse communities of students and we are striving to develop a staff that reflects that. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply to our open positions. The Farm School does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, sex, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin in any of its school administered policies or programs.

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