Middle School Climate Associate (2026-2027)

Spark Academy in Lawrence, MA is an innovative school dedicated to supporting students’ academic growth, health, and wellness. Spark’s school day intertwines rigorous academic classes with invigorating athletics including dance, karate, and football. Spark’s structures include high academic expectations, small group advisories, and a school-wide behavior management system. Climate Associates play an incredibly important role in Spark Academy’s overall success in supporting our students. As such, we work to recruit Associates who are an incredibly positive, strong, energetic presence in the lives of our children and have a commitment towards hard work that will help lead their students to significant academic and behavioral growth. Climate Associates work in our culture and climate team to support students and teachers in our school by proactively helping to create a culture that is positive, safe, and meaningful for students. They also support students when they are struggling to be successful in school or are making challenging choices. This includes quick check ins in the hallway, planning school wide events, debriefing and reflecting with students if and when a situation occurs, and/or leading circles with students to reflect on their actions. As such, Climate Associates must be confident and mature individuals who can project authority and manage groups of children. This role is a prime opportunity for a variety of professionals, including: a) those who want to complete a year or two of service by supporting a disadvantaged community, b) those looking to develop their skills as educators in the hopes of working towards becoming a teacher, counselor or school administrator, or c) those who have extensive experience in schools and want to continue the valuable work without taking on the load of a full-time teaching or administrative position. Spark Academy Associate Teachers work 180 days of school as well as participate in up to 11 non-teaching days of professional development throughout the school year, including a 7 day orientation before the start of the year. The school day runs from 8:00-3:45pm Monday through Thursday and 8:00-2:30pm on Fridays. Spark Associate Teachers also work from 4:00-5:00pm every Tuesday to either participate in targeted professional develop or to help support students academically in an afterschool homework program. Responsibilities

Take responsibility to be a strong, positive force daily in our school while also consistently and thoughtfully motivating students to work hard and want to learn;

Build supportive working relationships with staff and students to help create a positive and collaborative work environment;

Run high functioning small groups for targeted students in identified subjects, often working with students identified as English language learners (ELL) or needing special education services.

Actively seek out ways to continuously support lead teachers all staff to reduce the heavy load on teachers and increase their time to support students, e.g. grading, preparing materials, supporting with behavior management;

Be extremely flexible and supportive in ensuring overall school-wide functioning by taking on other vital non-academic duties that support the organization and order of the school, e.g. lunch and recess duty, helping to run afternoon detentions, supporting student transitions between classes.

Engage in professional development and coaching and embrace a growth mindset to actively improve instructional and management skills;

Use school-wide behavior system to establish strong classroom culture, consistent routines, and high expectations for students to ensure that culture is uniform throughout the school and thus ensuring the least amount of learning time is wasted;

Build trusting relationships with students and families in an advisory setting of up to 12 students while also supporting students to gain a deeper understanding of our school values: Seeking Justice, Perseverance, Active Living, Reason, and Kindness.

Other responsibilities as needed and assigned by administration. Qualifications

Alignment with Spark Academy’s core beliefs and educational philosophy is non-negotiable.

Experience working with young people required;

Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree highly preferred, High School degree required;

Possesses a positive attitude, is confident, and can project authority;

Able to inspire and motivate students to push themselves academically;

Academically strong in assigned academic area;

Very punctual and very reliable;

Fluency in Spanish preferred;

Self-motivated to improve, consistently looking for new ways to better support other staff and students, and willing to be flexible to do whatever is needed to ensure the best education possible for all students

Salary : $16 - $21