After school STEM Mentor: SPUSD

Job Title: After School STEM Mentor

Company: Leap Lab: Science Center of Ventura County

Location: Santa Paula

Job Type: Part-Time, Contract (August 2025 - August 2026)

Compensation: $60/hr. (up to 10 hrs. per week)

About Us:

Leap Lab is dedicated to inspiring local resilience through a love of science and nature.. One pillar of our work is engaging local students in STEM  through outreach programs with local schools, including afterschool programs. We believe in creating engaging, hands-on learning experiences that inspire curiosity and build foundational skills for future success.

Position Summary:

 Our goal is to provide  quality STEM afterschool programs to Santa Paula schools in order to improve student science performance and augment what teachers are already doing in the classroom.
 

We are seeking highly motivated and organized Part-Time STEM Mentors to implement our afterschool STEM programs in 7 schools in the Santa Paula Unified School District. The STEM programs are 2 hours per day after school, and run 5 days a week for the entire 2025-2026 school year. The STEM program is a 60-minute classroom lesson in the form of a kit, which is taught twice each day after school.  We provide the kit, all materials and the training, while the mentor works directly with students to implement the lesson.  

We aim to have 1 or 2 mentors assigned to a school, with only 1 mentor required at the school each afternoon.  Therefore, the schedule may be   shared between the two mentors in order to make sure no days are missed.

Commitment to Diversity: Leap Lab is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to ensuring an equitable, just, diverse, and inclusive work environment for all, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, family or parental status, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

Key Responsibilities:

• Program Implementation: Mentors will work closely with the program manager to ensure they have a clear understanding of which school and dates they are working, and know which STEM kits to use and how to use them.
• STEM kits: The project manager will organize training dates on Zoom so that mentors know how to implement the kits.  The mentor is responsible to attend these training events and ask questions to ensure the kits can be implemented correctly.
• Scheduling and Preparation: Mentors are expected to take responsibility to have their afterschool programs ready to go as soon as the school day ends.  If a mentor must cancel a scheduled date, notify the program manager a minimum of one week in advance, unless it is an emergency.
• Communication and feedback: Mentors will work closely with the program manager to implement and improve the program. The measure of our success is how well our programs benefit student science literacy and support what teachers are doing in the classroom. We want to be pragmatic so we can always improve our work.

Qualifications:

• Experience in K-12 education, particularly in STEM subjects or afterschool programs, is highly desirable.
• Organizational skills with meticulous attention to implement STEM lessons effectively.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, capable of building positive relationships with students, teachers, parents and the project manager.
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple priorities effectively.
• Reliable transportation and ability to travel daily to school locations.
• Proficiency in standard office software (e.g., Microsoft Office Suite, Google Workspace).

Desired qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in education or the pursuit of a degree in education or a STEM related field.
• Bilingual in Spanish a plus

Application Process:

Interested candidates are invited to submit a resume and cover letter with up to 3 references, detailing their qualifications and experience relevant to this position. 

Credentialed teachers: submit a brief cover letter outlining your years of teaching experience and grade level(s), and up to 3 references. No need for CV/Resume. 

Please send your application by August 25th to: 

Marcus Eriksen, PhD

Executive Director

Leap Lab: Science Center of Ventura County

marcus@leaplab.org 

323-395-1843