Jumpstart

Team Lead

November 2021 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

I enjoyed the community and classroom interactions.

What I wish was different

I wish the schedules for classrooms were more flexible.

Advice

I would reach out to others who aren’t in your team for more creative ideas.

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Team Leader Assistant

July 2018 • Carson, CA

What I liked

What I wish was different

Advice

I would recommend applying for many reasons! It's a great way to get experience with kids, it's so much fun, it's exciting, the people are sincerely nice, and if you'd like connections or letter of recommendation they got you. I am stoked that they hired me, I can't wait to start.

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Corps Member

August 2019 • Washington, DC

What I liked

In Jumpstart I worked with children from ages 4-5 in an after school program fostering their reading and critical thinking skills. What I loved most was getting to know each of the children and the proud feeling I got when I saw improvement!

What I wish was different

Advice

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Public School Teacher Assistant

June - August 2019 • Buffalo, NY

What I liked

Being able to work with refugee kids from so many different cultures was such a rich experience!

What I wish was different

Unfortunately, some of the student leaders were very ill-equipped and not emotionally stable!

Advice

Pay attention to each individual kids needs and personality in order to have them learn best.

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Assistant teacher

May - August 2019 • Univ of Pittsburgh, PA

What I liked

I liked going into the classroom to read a story and having activities relating to the book. Also, the leaders were all helpful and understood what it is like to be a part of the Jumpstart team.

What I wish was different

I wish that had been different is the training at the beginning of the internships. The thing that would be changed is the training online because a lot of time it did not work for the whole group.

Advice

This experience was a positive one and is a great way to get into the classroom with students. Having experience with different types of students.

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AmeriCorps member

October 2019 • Northridge, CA

What I liked

I like to spend time with children, teaching them how to read, learn new vocabulary words and interacting with them.

What I wish was different

Advice

Try to have a flexible schedule because there are a lot of team planning and material we do.

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Summer Volunteer

June - August 2019 • Jamaica, NY

What I liked

I liked working with the kids, the dynamic on the ground experience, the creative opportunities

What I wish was different

The commute was really long and difficult-- two trains and a bus twice a day.

Advice

Put as much time and thought possible into your lesson planning-- it will pay off.

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Classroom assistant

June - August 2018 • Chicago, IL

What I liked

I enjoyed working with a diverse group of children as well as teachers. I have had the opportunity to read to the children and watch them become active learners during Circle Time. Aside from teaching them, I also encouraged them to be active by playing tagging with them and chasing them on the playground.

What I wish was different

I wish that some children took me a little more seriously, as some of them made me doubt my ability to teach at times. I think that it might have had to do with them being unaccustomed to my presence. If I had taught in the classroom a little longer, some of them may be calmer. I also wish that I interacted with the parents more, to let them know that I was contributing to their children's education.

Advice

Be yourself but also open-minded to new experiences

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Corps Member

June - August 2018 • Pittsburgh, PA

What I liked

Very rewarding, good experience working directly with children; helped develop my leadership/ classroom management/organization skills

What I wish was different

Program was initially a bit disorganized initially; took a while for me to be on payroll

Advice

Be prepared to be flexible

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Corps member

August 2016 - July 2017 • Carson, CA

What I liked

It gave me a better understanding of the field I want to work on and gave me tools to expand my knowledge.

What I wish was different

I wish we would have had more class time with the children.

Advice

If you are struggling with implementing strategies the site manager, Jessica, is a very good resource to help you with the transition.

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Princeton Internships in Civic Service Summer Intern

June - August 2017 • Boston, MA

What I liked

I thoroughly enjoyed my internship with Jumpstart (an early childhood language & literacy nonprofit), and I deeply admire the organization’s commitment to its mission and core values. Jumpstart is always willing to grow and develop and balances reliable, consistent practice with a theory of change. In fact, this philosophy was reflected in the structure of my internship: as an intern, I always felt that my projects were clearly defined, but I was also able to explore new areas of interest. My favorite work experience with Jumpstart was producing a memo that established a new framework for corporate engagement.

What I wish was different

The only “weakness” of the organization is that members of the team are often coming and going, which is largely true of the nonprofit world in general (not exclusively Jumpstart). This rapid turnover rate seems to make forward progress somewhat difficult, but the organization does a wonderful job of integrating new team members and uniting all employees behind the same goals and interests.

Advice

Future interns at Jumpstart will always have relevant, meaningful projects to complete due to the organization’s commitment to improving and developing its program. I would recommend that future interns make an effort to get to know as many members of the Jumpstart team as possible, embrace the upbeat office culture, and be proactive.

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