Academic Program Manager

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW:

The Vera Court Neighborhood Center is a neighborhood center on the north side of Madison, and is part of Vera Court Neighborhood Center, Inc. Our mission is to journey with our neighbors—uplifting youth, supporting families, and creating spaces of belonging where communities grow stronger together. Our youth programs focus on social emotional learning (SEL), belonging and leadership. We host elementary, middle and high school programs which run in the afterschool setting as well as 8-week long summer camps.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The Academic Program Manager leads the Milestones Department, the home of Vera Court Neighborhood Center's academic programming. This position provides leadership and supervision to a team of academic staff, interns, volunteers, and tutors while ensuring the delivery of high-quality literacy and math programming for youth. Working in partnership with local schools, families, and community partners, the Academic Program Manager develops and oversees collaborative academic initiatives that support students' educational growth and success. This role is ideal for a candidate with a strong background in literacy, mathematics, instructional practices, and youth development, as well as a passion for student-centered learning that meets the diverse academic needs of children.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Academic Support

• Lead formal and informal literacy and numeracy assessments for program participants focused on the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and writing and math skills.
• Coordinate and implement reading groups and reading strategies based on assessment results.
• Lead nontraditional, engaging and creative learning activities related to reading, writing and mathematics for 1st-8th grader participants.
• Leads in school and out of school tutoring.
• Recruit and train volunteers, interns and work study students to tutor program participants.
• Evaluate students’ progress toward increasing their reading and math levels.
• Provide individual or small group support to youth in the elementary, middle and high school programs.
• Maintains partnership with local elementary, middle and high schools to gather academic information on all program participants.

Family Academic Support

• Facilitate/Coordinate family engagement nights with a focus on literacy, math or additional academic areas.
• Identify community partners and resources to meet needs identified by families.
• Maintain partnerships with teachers to identify how Vera Court and families can support students out of the classroom.
• Conduct monthly check-ins with participant’s families to discuss student progress.

Supervision & Additional Responsibilities

• Supervise, train, and support Program Tutors, the Rise Coordinator, volunteer tutors, interns, and work-study participants.
• Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of the Rise Program.
• Support the Play-Based Tutor in developing and implementing elementary curriculum.
• Collaborate with the SEL Program Manager, Elementary Program Coordinator, Middle/High School Coordinator, Youth Workers, tutors, and volunteers to coordinate literacy and math programming.
• Organize and facilitate ongoing professional development opportunities focused on literacy and math instruction for program staff.
• Attend weekly one-on-one with the Vera Court Center Director
• Conduct weekly one-on-one check-in meetings with direct reports to provide feedback, and support.
• Perform administrative responsibilities, including grant reporting, program data tracking, assessments, grade report monitoring, and maintaining documentation necessary to achieve program objectives and meet reporting requirements.
• Maintain partnerships with key stakeholders

HOURS

This is a full‑time position, scheduled Monday through Friday. Core hours are Monday to Friday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Additional evening and weekend hours may be required based on project needs or special events.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary range is $60,000 - $62,000 and a generous benefits package including: paid holidays, paid vacation, sick leave, health insurance (85% employer paid), dental insurance, 403(b) retirement plan with up to 5% employer match, professional development stipend, and more.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $60,000.00 - $62,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan

Experience:

• Supervising: 2 years (Required)
• youth program: 3 years (Required)

Ability to Commute:

• Madison, WI 53704 (Required)

Work Location: In person

Salary : $60,000 - $62,000