Do you believe that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not?
Higher Achievement is looking for a Learning Director at the DC Metro Affiliate. An ideal candidate is an engaging leader in an upbeat after school environment, can work extremely consistently and collaboratively with internal staff, school leadership, families, and external stakeholders, and is able to build connection and reliability through fun, safe and consistent structures for scholars!
Summary: Learning Director, reporting to the Director of Program Operations, ensures Higher Achievement scholars achieve academic and social emotional learning (SEL) goals and outcomes, working towards our anchor indicator of preparation for and placement in college preparatory programs. The Learning Director has the incredible opportunity and responsibility of ensuring that all of the components of our program model and all of the supporting staff and volunteers are effectively driving towards academic gains, social and emotional development and preparation for high school.
Job Details:
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Start Date: anticipated to start September 8 2026
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Supervisor: Director of Program Operations
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Directly Manages: 1-3 Part Time Staff, and Fellows (for DC applicants), Volunteers
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Indirectly Manages: n/a
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Works closely with: Senior Manager of Volunteers and Curriculum and the Mentor and Volunteer Manager
- Position Status: Full-Time, Exempt
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Remote Status: Hybrid (In-person for all center operational hours, for two in-office days and for any mission critical activities and relationship building events)
- Schedule/Hours: Works Monday through Friday. Occasional weekend availability is required. During Afterschool Academy program, on center days (3 days a week) works on average 11:00 am to 7:00 pm schedule; on non-center days, works a standard business schedule, 9:00 am- 5:00 pm and Friday hours are 9:00 am - 1:00 pm. During the summer, works on average Monday-Thursday, 9:00 am- 5:00 pm and Friday, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm. All hours are excluding an up to 30 min lunch break (optional).
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Location: This position must be within commuting distance of our DC Metro Higher Achievement office.
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Travel: Candidate must have the ability to travel in between main office and Achievement Center(s) on a daily basis via reliable transportation and attend events in the location area on a regular basis. Occasional weekend availability is required, as well as availability for one annual three day overnight college trip each summer.
- Compensation & Benefits: The pay for this DC Metro position is $65,000 annual salary. Higher Achievement offers competitive benefits, including:
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Health Insurance: 90% employer-paid medical, dental, life, short-term disability, and long-term disability coverage; 50% employer-paid dependent medical and dental coverage. Eligible upon hire.
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Additional Insurance: Employee-paid vision, critical illness, and accident coverage. Eligible upon hire.
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Paid Holidays: Approximately 12 holidays annually, plus one week off in winter and one week off in summer (subject to annual organizational calendar).
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Paid Time Off: 240 hours (6 weeks) annually for vacation, sick, or personal leave; accrues at 9.23 hours per biweekly pay period.
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Five-Year Recess: One month (160 hours) of paid leave after five consecutive years of full-time service.
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Parental Leave: 80 hours (2 work weeks) for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child.
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403(b) Retirement Plan: Eligible upon hire. Higher Achievement matches 100% of employee contributions up to 5% of salary deferral. Participation is voluntary.
What You’ll Do! Key Duties and Responsibilities
Scholar and Family Support
- Ensure scholars are meeting academic and social and emotional learning (SEL) targets that prepare them for college-preparatory high school programs. This includes ensuring scholars maintain A/B’s; or improve their grades in core courses. maintain or improve SEL indicators, and successfully apply to college preparatory programs their eighth-grade year
- Use data to provide ongoing assessment of scholars’ performance, including in-depth academic evaluations and evaluations of scholar attendance, participation, and social development; make recommendations for programmatic changes based on data when appropriate
- Support scholar recruitment efforts led by the DPO and retain a pre-determined scholar roster
- Maintain consistent communication on scholars’ academic and SEL progress, and attendance with parents, host school staff and volunteers
- Facilitate orientations for scholars and parents
Ensure scholar information such as attendance, grades, behavior, parent communication and contact information is stored accurately on Salesforce
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Staff and Volunteer Management
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Effectively manage the team of staff and volunteers that together meet the academic and SEL needs of all scholars
- Ensure programming is of high quality by providing instructional and SEL coaching to staff and volunteers. This includes conducting regular observations and sharing constructive feedback to volunteers and staff on a regular basis
- Develop a strong understanding of the district clearance process and support staff and volunteers as they complete the necessary requirements
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Directly manage between one and two full-time employees' year- round, the Learning Coordinator(s) and an AmeriCorps Achievement Fellow (depending on the location), and implement Higher Achievement management practices
- Based on scholar rosters, manage part-time staff and volunteers, where applicable, including recruitment, hiring, training, coaching, performance management, and compliance
Center Management
- Ensure the center operates safely, smoothly, and follows Higher Achievement’s program model. This includes creating a center culture that develops a love of learning, builds on Higher Achievement’s social justice pillars, voice, freedom, justice, and solidarity, and is youth-focused
- Director oversight and responsibility of four core components of programming: Learning Blocks, Community Meeting, Electives and Field Trips
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Responsible for program quality regarding Learning Blocks, Community Meeting, Electives and Field Trips
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Plan, lead and facilitate Community Meetings. Learning Coordinators are available to co-lead and assume responsibilities during this portion of the evening as long as it’s planned and agreed upon.
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Ensure center staff is following scholar safety risk management procedures, including behavior management, scholar transitions, arrival and dismissal
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Coordinate schedules and logistics between Higher Achievement, host school, and outside partners
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Maintain oversight of the achievement center’s supplemental budget as it relates to daily expenses and supplies
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
Minimum Qualifications (Required)
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Commitment to the mission and work of Higher Achievement
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Bachelor’s degree or post-secondary certification (related field) required
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Minimum of three years’ experience working directly with middle school youth in an educational setting required; teaching experience a plus
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Experience directly managing staff and/or volunteers required
Preferred Qualifications
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Experience in community building, mentoring and youth development strongly preferred
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Strong skills in planning, organizing, attention to detail, written and oral communication strongly preferred
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Experience building relationships and/or working with diverse community stakeholders, including families, schools/community partners, and corporate partners, including making public presentations and organizing community outreach efforts preferred
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Strong skills in technology such as Microsoft Office Suite and Salesforce and data analysis preferred
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Bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred; candidates are fluent in English and strongly prefer applicants able to have conversations with families in Spanish
Background & Clearance Check: This position requires a criminal background check prior to hire to include state/local municipalities, school district clearances and grant required checks. All clearance checks are paid by Higher Achievement
Higher Achievement Core Values: Scholar-Centricity, Striving for Excellence, Power of Community, Voice, and Social Justice.
Physical Requirements and Work Environment: Work is regularly performed in a school setting. Employee may spend long periods of time sitting, standing, and walking, and climb stairs. Employee regularly lifts, carries, and positions objects weighting up to 20 pounds. Regular use of a computer and keyboard, telephone, and face-to-face communication in small and large group settings with youth and adults; ability to communicate clearly and professionally. Visual, auditory, and physical ability to respond quickly to incidents involving students and act in an emergency situation. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
To Apply: Interested applicants are encouraged to apply immediately with resume, with a priority deadline of July 26, 12 midnight. The position will remain open until all spots are filled.
About Higher Achievement
Higher Achievement is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization founded in 1975. We support motivated scholars from grades 5–8 through rigorous academics, mentoring, and enrichment during out-of-school time. Our long-term approach works—95% of Higher Achievement scholars graduate from high school.
We believe in scholar voice, social justice, power of community, and striving for excellence—and we’re building teams that reflect the communities we serve.
Our Program Model: Higher Achievement showers our scholars with academic opportunities through a proven year-round program model that includes afterschool programming from September-May or June (depending on center) and summer initiatives such as college trips and summer meetings with all Higher Achievement families. Core programming that takes place within Afterschool Academy consists of learning blocks, mentoring, community meeting, electives and field trips.
- Learning Blocks: Scholars receive academic support, including HW help, HS application prep, or supplemental work aligned to in-school content
- Mentoring: In small groups of 3-4 scholars, scholars work with a Mentor as they complete our High School Readiness curriculum which focuses on community exploration, learning about high schools, goal setting, and high school application preparation
- Community Meeting: Scholars engage in activities, challenges, and projects focused on relationship-building and SEL skills
- Electives: Multiple times a week scholars have the opportunity to participate in enrichment opportunities that vary across sites. Examples of electives are art, yoga, chess, dance, sports, cooking and robotics
- Field Trips: Field trips are exposure opportunities for scholars and they are offered 3x during the year: fall, spring, and summer (college trip).
To Apply: Interested applicants are encouraged to apply immediately with resume, with a priority deadline of July 26, 12 midnight. The position will remain open until all spots are filled.
