The Opportunity
Are you a patient, compassionate student looking to make a real difference in someone’s life? We are seeking a reliable High School or College Student to work 1-on-1 with a wonderful 16-year-old boy with intellectual delays.
Our son is working on foundational academic skills (though he is a Sophmore in high school in some academic areas he is still working at Kindergarten to 1st-grade level). You don’t need a teaching degree to be successful here—you just need a big heart, a lot of patience, and the ability to lead 1-to-1 academic and vocation learning experiences in a fun and authentic way .
What You’ll Be Doing
You will be a "Learning Coach," helping him engage with basic academic and pre-vocational skills. This includes:
- Basic Academics: Practicing reading comprehension, basic math (counting/adding/basic word problem), and writing (journaling, writing projects, punctuation).
- Social Connection: Simply being a positive role model. You’ll help him practice social cues and appropriate communication through play and conversation.
- Creative Learning: Using games, iPad tools, or hands-on activities to keep him excited about learning.
- Authentic Learning - The learning model of implementing learning activities that are authentic to his interests and stregths work well or our son.
Who We Are Looking For
- Compassionate & Patient: You understand that everyone learns at their own pace and you can stay encouraging even on "slow" days.
- Responsible & Punctual: Since consistency is very important for our son, we need someone we can count on to show up on time.
- Clear Communicator and Self-Starter for Choosing and Implementing Learning Activities: You can choose learning activities, follow a lesson plan and let us know how the day went.
- No Degree Required: This is a perfect role for a college student or a mature High School Junior or Senior looking for meaningful work experience.
Activity Planning
- Lesson and activity planning are key for the learning sessions to go well. In some cases the lesson/activity plans will be selected by us and in other instance you will be compensated for prep time to create and plan activities.
Requirements
- Must have reliable transportation to our home in Palo Alto near Gunn High School.
- Must be able to work independently (at least on parent will be nearby but you will lead the sessions).
- Must be willing to manage generating invoices and light accouting to document the fees for services for the Independent Contractor Role with our family
- A long-term interest is a huge plus—we’d love for you to become a familiar face in his life!
Why Apply?
- Great Pay: We offer a highly competitive hourly rate ($25–$30/hr) to ensure we find the right person.
- Flexible Hours: We can work around your high school or college class schedule.
- Resume Builder: This is an excellent experience for anyone interested in teaching, therapy, or social work.
Job Type: Part-time
Pay: $25.00 - $30.00 per hour
Expected hours: 6.0 – 10.0 per week
Work Location: In person
