Math Mentor
Help build a warm mathematical culture where young people can ask real questions, develop confidence, and encounter ideas worth lingering over.
- Part-time W-2 employment for applicants age 16 and older
- After-school and Saturday work in Portland
- Starting at $17-$25 per hour, depending on education stage, with growth over time
- Close support for people beginning to teach
- The minimum commitment is one consistent after-school or Saturday shift of at least two hours each week, with reliable transportation to and from the studio.
- Experienced educators can take on greater independence as they become familiar with the studio and its approach. Responsibilities are shaped around experience with mathematics, teaching, tutoring, childcare, or youth programs.
About the Role
Math Mentors support individual learners and small groups across The Number Garden's programs. The work may include school support, puzzles, mathematical investigations, games, and conversation shaped around what students are ready to understand next.
This is not a role for rushing children through worksheets. Strong candidates can hold warmth and rigor together: listening carefully, choosing worthwhile questions, and helping students persist without making struggle feel punitive.
About You:
- You do not need to be the fastest person in your math class or have every answer ready. Curiosity, patience, reliability, and a willingness to think carefully with other people matter more.
- You enjoy working with younger people and can give them time to think without taking over.
- You are willing to explore, explain, and learn mathematics—not just deliver procedures from an answer key.
- You communicate clearly, arrive consistently, welcome feedback, and want to develop as an educator.