Title: Lead Teacher (Program Facilitator)
Reports to: Senior Lead Teacher
Location: In Person at exalt's location in Syracuse, NY (224 Harrison Street, 7th Floor)
Schedule: Working Hours: 11am-7pm; Classes 3pm-5pm
ABOUT exalt
exalt is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming outcomes for court-involved youth ages 15–19. For two decades, exalt has inspired young people at a critical crossroads to believe in their worth and create lasting behavioral change. Through our integrated model of structured classes, individualized support, paid internships, court advocacy, and alumni resources, we equip youth with the skills, experience, and confidence to avoid further justice system involvement and become self-sufficient, productive members of society. At exalt, we empower youth to see a future filled with hope — and we provide the road map to get there.
POSITION SUMMARY
exalt is seeking a Lead Teacher to join the Syracuse team. The Lead Teacher guides cohorts of young people through exalt's program — a transformative journey that moves participants from classroom learning to real-world internship experience and, ultimately, to a concrete plan for their future. The Lead Teacher facilitates three components of this core program:
- Pre-Internship Preparation (4 weeks): A daily workshop-style class that builds four core skills — critical thinking, communication, creative problem-solving, and resource management (the ability to identify and leverage available supports and opportunities) — while connecting employability, educational engagement, and justice system avoidance to real-life decision-making.
- Internship Phase (4 weeks): During this phase, participants are placed in paid internships. The Lead Teacher facilitates weekly Friday Seminars that help students connect their workplace experiences to the three key areas where exalt supports its participants: justice system avoidance, academic progression, and employability.
- Post-Internship Phase (1 week): A daily class during which participants synthesize their internship experience with prior learning and develop tangible, personal goals and strategies for staying on track after the program — in school, at work, and in their communities.
exalt's approach centers the voices, experiences, and cultures of our young people. Rather than relying on traditional lecture-based instruction, Lead Teachers create space for participants to explore ideas through dialogue, creativity, and real-world application — building critical thinking and self-advocacy through active participation. This approach also builds discipline and accountability, inspiring youth to internalize and apply exalt's four core skills to decision-making across settings — in school, in professional environments, and in their daily lives.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Facilitate multiple program cycles annually for cohorts of youth ages 15-19, creating an engaging and supportive learning environment.
- Build authentic relationships with young people who are typically resistant to traditional educational settings.
- Assess individual student learning styles, challenges and strengths and tailor instruction to maximize engagement and comprehension.
- Communicate regularly with Program Coordinator and exalt staff to share students' obstacles, assets and opportunities.
- Enter weekly data in Salesforce database including attendance, performance and notes assessing developmental progress and setbacks of students.
- Devise creative strategies to address the diverse needs of students at risk of not completing the program.
- Link all classroom discussion and instruction to exalt’s long-term goals for students: increased investment and persistence in school, employability, and sustained avoidance of further justice system involvement.
- Conduct all pre- and post- assessments on schedule.
- Collaborate with Program Coordinator to develop individualized goals for students and support their progress towards goals by conducting school visits, attending court appearances, or connecting them to additional resources as needed.
- Collaborate with exalt staff on a regular basis to assess and support participants’ ongoing progress and needs, particularly in education, criminal justice system avoidance, and employment.
- Support the program team in maintaining a positive organizational culture, including setting and maintaining the tone for student behavior in the office space, welcoming external visitors, and upholding office policies and procedures.
PERFORMANCE MEASURES
- Students’ progress in classroom engagement and participation as measured through Likert scales, attendance, adherence to program contract obligations, and progress notes.
- Students’ progress in comprehension, internalization and application of exalt’s four core skills and additional curriculum content as measured through pre- and post-program assessments.
- Retention of at least 75% of enrolled students in each class through entire four-week pre-internship classroom session, and 55-60% full program completion.
IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s Degree required.
- Bilingual, Spanish-speaking a plus.
- We welcome candidates from diverse professional backgrounds including the arts, social work, community organizing, youth development, and other non-traditional paths. A background in formal education is not required.
- All employees are required to have had a Covid 19 vaccination.
Core Competencies
- Creative Engagement: Ability to use creative tools and approaches to connect with young people where they are and bring concepts to life. Comfort thinking outside traditional educational frameworks to reach participants who have been disengaged by conventional learning environments.
- Group Facilitation: Demonstrated ability to lead a group of high school-aged youth who may be resistant to traditional educational settings. Balance clear structure, accountability, and high expectations with an engaging, participatory facilitation style that fosters trust and active involvement.
- Adaptability: Able to adapt quickly to new information and unexpected obstacles, and approach change positively. Comfortable adjusting exalt's curriculum to the specific needs, learning styles, and personalities of each cohort of participants.
- Applied Learning: Able to learn and apply new position-related information quickly. For example, all exalt youth interface with the juvenile or criminal (adult) justice systems. The Lead Teacher must become familiar with these systems to understand their role in participants' lives and relevance to the curriculum.
- Communication: Clearly and effectively convey and receive information and ideas with participants and colleagues through a variety of formats. Strong written, verbal, and listening skills.
- Planning and Organizing: Organize work, set priorities, determine resource requirements, and seek input from supervisors and colleagues. Identify the necessary sequence of activities to achieve goals.
- Stress Tolerance: exalt participants face significant obstacles and often have pending court requirements that put their freedom in jeopardy. Staff must be able to make challenging decisions (e.g., potentially releasing a participant who cannot meet program standards despite flexibility) and manage the emotional weight of working with young people facing serious challenges.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
- Salary: $65,000
- Insurance: medical, dental, vision and life
- 401k matching plan: 50% matching of employee's contribution up to 5% of salary
- Commuter and parking flexible spending
- Generous paid time off
APPLICATION SUBMISSION
Please submit cover letter and resume on exalt’s career page: https://exaltyouth.bamboohr.com/careers
exalt is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values diversity at all levels of its organization. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We strongly encourage applications from people who are reflective of the diverse communities we serve.
