Curriculum Writing Fellowship, Bridge International Academies, Cambridge, MA

Posted April 1, 2016

Who We Are:

Bridge International Academies is a network of elementary schools in the developing world. We serve families living on less than $2/day. We have more than 400 schools in Africa, mostly in Kenya, but also growing in Uganda, Nigeria, and soon India. Bridge is a for-profit company that deeply believes that financially sustainable solutions are the long-term answer to development in emerging countries. Investors in Bridge include World Bank, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg.

About the Position:

To help our teachers, Bridge creates “Teacher Guides” and our own textbooks. Typically, our Guides direct the teacher to do a lot less “lecturing” than traditional for African schools, and do a lot more of letting the students actually do the reading or writing or problem-solving. That is, we’re trying to make the pupil experience less “rote.”

While Bridge is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, we have a small office near Central Square in Cambridge, MA. We have about 8 experienced Curriculum Directors; each is supported by 3 to 8 Curriculum Writing Fellows. A Fellow uses model Teacher Guides (developed and tested by the Directors, with a lot of feedback from our teachers) to draft/adapt new lessons. Fellows also assist Curriculum Directors in developing assessments and more general research.

The Curriculum Writing Fellowship is a service program. There is a small stipend, but the purpose of this work is to make a difference in the world. The Fellowship allows dedicated people to invest their time in helping thousands of children receive a better day-to-day school experience. In the developing world, the number of students attending school is soaring, but the quality of most schools, according to international experts, is low. Bridge believes each student has the potential to succeed at high levels, and that strong lesson plans can help them reach that potential.

We will provide training into East African and West African school contexts. While the work is in education, and while we provide valuable training into the nature of teaching and assessment, we are not necessarily looking for future or former teachers. Our typical Fellows tend to be recent college graduates and young professionals – both of whom are passionate about the Bridge mission. Former fellows have gone on to graduate school programs and careers in international development, education, law, public policy, nonprofit, medicine, and more — with a number promoted at Bridge.

For more information about Bridge, check out our website: http://www.bridgeinternationalacademies.com/.

What You Should Have:

Obsessive attention to detail
Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Google Spreadsheets and the ability to pick up simple software programs quickly
Strong writing and editing skills
Willingness to learn quickly and to collaborate with teammates
Ability to receive and effectively apply feedback
High degree of focus and organization
Good initiative and a positive attitude
Commitment to the big picture and the ability to find value in the big and small tasks alike

What The Fellowship Provides:

Opportunity to contribute directly to the learning of thousands of pupils
Opportunity to learn from and collaborate with brilliant changemakers who are actively impacting the world
One-on-one mentorship with permanent staff members who have experience in teaching, data collection, research, publishing, tech, education policy, international development and more
Hands-on experience at a fast-paced, rapidly growing international social enterprise

Details:

Stipend: $9,951.96 for 6 months
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Commitment: Full-time, Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm
Start/End Dates: 6-8 month commitment, starting in June.

Bridge is always looking for excited individuals to join our team. If the start and end dates do not fit with your schedule, we would still love to hear from you.

To apply, please submit a resume and thoughtful cover letter to [email protected].