Back to jobs
New

College Admissions Writing Instructor

San Francisco, California, United States

Title: College Admissions Writing Instructor
FLSA: Part-time, Seasonal
Department: SF Scholars
Reports To: Manager of Teaching & Learning
Compensation: $50 (Hourly)
Location: Hybrid (Remote on weekdays, in-person on Saturdays at UC Law campus in San Francisco OR Berkeley City College in Berkeley)

POSITION OVERVIEW

Instructors will join SEO’s community of passionate educators to implement a rigorous college prep curriculum for driven high school students.  Using our original curriculum and a student-centered, anti-oppressive approach, instructors support Scholars’ journeys to a competitive college and beyond. Instructors promote depth of understanding and skill acquisition by serving as a coach and facilitator of learning. SEO’s writing team supports 11th & 12th graders through the college admissions writing process, developing personal statements, supplemental essays, scholarship essays, and special program essays.

DATES, SCHEDULE, & WEEKLY HOURS

  • Instructor Orientation:
    • [Date TBD in December]: More details regarding orientation logistics will be provided when onboarded.
  • Spring Saturday Academy: Typically 3 Saturdays a month. Due to our staffing needs and only seeing Scholars once a week, we cannot support more than 2 absences a semester. 11th Grade Saturday Academy Programming is held on campus from 9:15 AM to 4:00 PM (PT) on the following Saturdays:
    • 11 Saturdays: 1/18, 1/25, 2/1, 2/8, 3/1, 3/8, 3/15, 3/22, 4/12, 4/19, 5/10
  • Schedule:
    • A typical week may include the following tasks:
      • PD: Collaborate with the College Admissions Writing Team.
    • Weekday Feedback: Review scholar drafts and provide feedback.
    • Communication: Respond to scholars’ messages and provide encouragement and support.
    • 1:1 Meetings: Meet with students 1:1, in-person or on Zoom, to check in about writing progress, problem-solve, and provide feedback. Meet with each scholar 3-4 times over the semester.
    • Saturday Academy: Co-teach two 100-minute College Admissions Writing workshops.

    • Weekly Hours:
      • Writing Instructors are allotted 10-12 maximum hours per week during their seasonal employment, made up of Standard and Flex Hours. Please note that due to workloads surrounding application deadlines, some weeks may offer additional working hours in order to support all students.
        • Standard Hours: working on site with staff or students instructing a class or engaging with an instructional prep or support period:
          • Saturdays, 9:15am-4:00pm (with a 50-minute lunch) = 6 Hours/week
        • Flex Hours: preparing for workshops, writing Scholar feedback, communicating with staff and Scholars, and meeting with Scholars during the week. These are hours put in outside of the required schedule and can be completed asynchronously throughout the week = up to 6 Flex Hours/weekly

INSTRUCTIONAL CONTENT:

  • Writing for Your Quest to College:
    • Identifying core values and how they show up in college-admissions essays
    • Experimenting with different writing structures to respond to different prompts
    • Bringing vulnerability and insight to personal writing through detail
    • Using craft moves to bring creativity and personality to personal writing
    • Refining writing with micro-editing techniques
    • Collaborating with others to build supportive and productive creative spaces!

SITE LOCATIONS:

11th Grade Saturday Academy Programming will take place at one of our partner sites:

  • UC Law campus: 200 McAllister St, San Francisco, CA 94102; off the Civic Center BART stop OR
  • Berkeley City College: 2050 Center St, Berkeley, CA 94704; off the Downtown Berkeley BART stop

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES 

The College Admissions Writing Instructor will support a cohort of 55 11th graders in completing the Questbridge College Prep Scholars Application, which includes a Personal Statement and Short Answers.

  • Planning / Teaching: Plan and co-facilitate college admissions writing workshops to two sections, with 25-30 students in each class, leveraging effective instructional strategies to increase student access, engagement, and voice.
  • Coaching: Provide small-group and 1:1 advising to help students brainstorm essay topics, develop their thinking, and make progress on their drafts.
  • Providing Feedback: Read and submit constructive feedback on students’ drafts, focusing on questions, suggestions, and observations that help students develop their writing.
  • Refining: Support students in finalizing their writing prior to submission by providing thoughtful comments, grammatical corrections, and content edits.
  • Collaboration with SEO Staff and Other Instructors – Plan and work alongside fellow instructors to build optimal experiences for Scholar learning. Collaborate with Scholars’ Program Managers to communicate Scholar celebrations and/or concerns to ensure we are supporting the whole student. Attend all scheduled meetings, professional development trainings, check-ins, and debriefs and respond to all messages in a timely manner.

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Required:
    • Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree; preferably in English, History, or a writing-intensive field
    • Depth of knowledge and experience as a writer, particularly the genres of personal statement and narrative writing
    • Comfortable with and skilled at working with and navigating technological learning systems
    • Experience working with high school students and engaging them in the writing process (including pre-writing/brainstorming, drafting, revision, publication, and reflection)
    • Strong familiarity with or willingness to learn about the college and scholarship application processes
    • Proficiency with technology, particularly Zoom and Google Drive (including Track Changes and Comment functions)

*Teaching certification is not required

COMPENSATION

This position is benefits ineligible in accordance with local, state, and federal regulations.

The compensation listed in this posting reflects what SEO believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and SEO reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time.

EEOC Policy

At SEO we are committed to cultivating a team that embodies the backgrounds and experiences of the constituencies we serve and the communities we live in, and a workplace that reflects the impact we make in the world. Candidates from all communities – including people of color, women, members of the LGBTQIA+ Community, veterans, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

Equal Employment Opportunity is not just the law, it is our commitment.

Sponsors for Educational Opportunity is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer – M/F/D/V. We will consider all qualified applicants for employment regardless of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information or characteristics, or any other legally protected status.

If you need accommodation while applying for a role with SEO, due to a disability, please email SEO Talent.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Education

Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Have you participated in any of the following programs?
Select...
Select...
Select...

Have you worked for the organization as a consultant, instructor, or staff member in the past? 

U.S. Standard Demographic Questions

We invite applicants to share their demographic background. If you choose to complete this survey, your responses may be used to identify areas of improvement in our hiring process.
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in SEO (Sponsors for Educational Opportunity)’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.