Founded in 1999, Tenacity is a Boston-based organization that offers a free tennis and reading program throughout the city.

Tenacity’s Summer Tennis and Reading Program (STRP) is open to any Boston resident between the ages of 6 and 15 years old and generally serves more than 4,000 students per summer. Each summer, Tenacity operates Monday through Friday at as many as 20 sites, in almost every neighborhood in Boston. Most sites have both morning (9am-12pm) and afternoon (1pm-3:45pm) sessions. The tennis component of the program is games-based and is designed to develop participants into functioning tennis players while emphasizing fun. The academic piece of the program is designed to keep kids reading over their summer vacation so they maintain important literacy skills.

Tenacity partners with the City of Boston and Parks & Recreation Department to provide this free program to Boston residents. This is a seasonal position (30 hours per week) from late June until mid-August. Boston residents are especially encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities:

• Responsible for delivering reading curriculum to youth ages 6-15 as well as helping organize the delivery of all program elements at a summer site
• Responsible for taking attendance, ensuring that staff time sheets are complete, and other administrative tasks
• Along with tennis coordinator, responsible for overall safety of site and supervising junior staff

Key Tasks:

• Design and lead reading activities every day, following the Tenacity Summer Program curriculum
• Lead all administrative tasks at site: attendance, time sheets, incident reports, communication with families, and other tasks as requested
• Participate in overall site organization, planning and activities
• Share enthusiasm for reading
• Utilize literacy resources available – books, magazines, writing supplies, etc. and request resources and supplies as needed
• Help manage and provide leadership for junior staff & volunteers
• Adhere to and enforce all COVID protocols that the city and Tenacity implement for summer programming
• Lead by example at paid staff training during the last week of June
• Communicate effectively with parents of participants as needed
• Communicate closely with Tenacity leadership each day

Qualifications: Strong candidates for this position will have the following characteristics:

• Passion for and experience working with youth, and an interest in teaching reading and literacy-based skills
• Strong organizational and management skills
• Excellent judgment and problem solving skills
• Able to communicate effectively with parents
• Able to listen to students needs and questions
• Able to maintain calm in all situations
• Ability to co-lead an entire summer site
• Must be age 19 by September 1st, 2024 to be considered for a leadership position. Leaders are generally aged 19-25 and there is no age maximum
• Must be available during staff training week (tentative dates July 1st, July 2nd, July 3rd)
• Must be available for all 6 weeks of programming after training (Monday July 8th—Friday August 16th). There will likely be optional additional summer work opportunities after Aug 16th if interested

*Leader pay starts at $20/hr