Senior Counselor Application

First Priority Deadline: February 7, 2025

Information about the Senior Counselor position:

Each Senior Counselor at the Summer Urban Program works with groups of children ages 6-13 for six weeks during the summer (RISE works with high school students), implementing a self-designed curriculum. They work closely with Junior Counselors, teenagers from the particular community in which the program is located that act as classroom assistants. Senior Counselors are expected to keep in close contact with parents and community members as well as join the rest of the staff on various retreats and trainings throughout the summer.

Further, Senior Counselors are an integral part of camp operations and are expected to work as part of a team to ensure that the program runs as well as possible. Senior Counselors are encouraged to limit outside commitments, as community involvement and program preparation may extend beyond designated camp hours. A significant number of outside training, staff meetings, and independent preparation are expected.

SUP will operate fully in person programming. Senior staff will be provided with housing and food at no cost, and will receive a $5,500 stipend to offset living expenses.

All Senior Counselors are expected to work for three weeks of staff training and six weeks of camp. You must commit to being available full-time from June 12th to August 9th. You may not accept any additional employment offers or take courses while working for SUP. Senior Counselors may not accept funding from any additional program (exceptions: MCS funding specifically for SUP, Chan Stride Funding for SUP, and Harvard Club funding specifically for SUP). Senior Counselors cannot accept two sources of funding for the position.

About SUP Programs

Camp Information and Preferences:

Please select between one and three camps at which you would especially like to work.

Information about each camp is listed below—click the names to learn more about each program. Please note that the ones you select are not the only camps which you will be considered; we want to get an idea of your preferences and where you see yourself fitting into our community. If you are interested in working with SUP’s high school-aged staff, check out our Leaders! program (listed below) or Junior Leaders in Communities (JLinC) program.

Boston Refugee Youth Enrichment (BRYE)Contact: brye@pbha.org ---------------------------- BRYE offers ESL instruction to 90 recent young immigrants (ages 6-13) living in Dorchester. BRYE campers are referred to us through Boston Public School teachers and administrators, social workers and partner community organizations for out-of-school ESL education. Beyond learning English, our youth also face the challenges of integrating themselves into American culture while maintaining their own cultural roots. In addition to ESL enrichment, BRYE emphasizes peaceful conflict resolution and cultural diversity appreciation to mitigate the prevalence of neighborhood violence and racial tensions between the diverse ethnic groups in Boston.

Cambridge Youth Enrichment Program (CYEP)Contact: cyep@pbha.org --------------------------- CYEP has 2 different sites located in Cambridge. Each site is composed of 80 students (ages 6-13) in 8 classrooms and the sites come together every week to build relationships.. Young people all live in and around the Cambridge area. Like all of our Summer Urban Program camps, CYEP engages campers in mornings of academic enrichment, afternoons of educational field trips, and artistic, cultural, and service-learning workshops throughout the week, along with two overnight camping trips and a day-long final trip.

Chinatown Adventure (CHAD)Contact: chad@pbha.org -------------------------- CHAD serves 70 young people living in Chinatown, particularly in the subsidized housing complexes there, including Mass Pike Towers, Castle Square, Oak Terrace, Metropolitan, and Tai Tung Village. The program seeks to enrich and improve the quality of life for low-income youth in Boston’s Chinatown through a commitment to the academic, social, and personal development of its campers. CHAD fights summer learning loss by reinforcing and strengthening campers’ academic skills, and promotes personal growth among its campers through activities that develop fundamental social skills, healthy identities, cross-cultural awareness, and social consciousness.

Franklin I-O (FIO)Contact: fio@pbha.org ------------------------- FIO serves youth living in Dorchester’s Franklin Hill and Franklin Field housing developments. The 80 children and their families are from the Franklin Field and Franklin Hill housing developments in Dorchester. Franklin I-O offers seven weeks of summer programming to young people ages six to 13, engaging campers in an academic curriculum that builds self-esteem and supports young people to explore their identity, values, and physical world.

Keylatch Summer Program (KSP)Contact: ksp@pbha.org ------------------------- KSP serves youth living in the Villa Victoria, Castle Square or Cathedral housing developments in Boston’s South End. The 30 years of Keylatch Summer history in the South End have been characterized by safe, enriching, and academically oriented programming, as well as by a commitment to build community leadership.

Leaders!Contact: leaders@pbha.org ------------------------- The Junior Leaders in Communities (JLinC) program is a youth development program for rising 9th graders. JLinC students meet as a cohort with two program Directors three days per week for personal and leadership development workshops and activities. They also serve as assistant Junior Counselors in one of the SUP camps for two days each week. If you are interested in working with JLinC, you should fill out a director application. You can also email jlinc@pbha.org with any questions.

Mission Hill Summer Program (MHSP)Contact: mhsp@pbha.org ------------------------- MHSP serves students living in the Mission Main and Alice Taylor housing developments in Mission Hill. In addition to a focus on academic and personal growth, Mission Hill Summer Program works to build community both within Mission Hill and between neighborhoods, collaborating with PBHA’s Keylatch Summer Program for a violence prevention program between young people in Mission Hill and the South End’s Villa Victoria. Mission Hill Summer Program works closely with PBHA’s Mission Hill Afterschool and Mission Mentor to provide continuous, year-round academic, social, and personal support to young people in Mission Hill.

Roxbury Youth Initiative (RYI)Contact: ryi@pbha.org ------------------------- RYI serves youth (ages six to 13) living in Roxbury, particularly those from Academy Homes, New Academy Homes, or Orchard Gardens. The program strives to create a safe, exciting, scholarly, and positive learning environment for Roxbury’s children by collaborating with community members, parents, children, and a network of social service organizations. RYI promotes and encourages academic and personal excellence by instilling the importance of community activism, consciousness, and education in the youth of Roxbury.

Recent Immigrant Summer Enrichment (RISE)Contact: rise@pbha.org ------------------------- RISE offers ESL instruction to recently immigrated high school teenagers living in the greater Boston area. The programs seek to improve young people’s English language skills, addressing the gap in SAT scores between native speakers and English Language Learners, and broadening their access to college and higher learning institutions.

South Boston Outreach Summer (SBOS)Contact: sbos@pbha.org ------------------------- SBOS serves 50 students between the ages of 6 and 13 living in the West Broadway, Old Colony, or Mary Ellen McCormick housing developments in South Boston. SBOS strives to empower youth through hands-on enrichment activities that emphasize academic confidence, conflict resolution, interdependence, prevention of risk-taking behaviors, and respect for diversity. The program places a significant focus on curricula that utilize substance abuse prevention and service-learning to support the academic achievement and positive youth development of our campers and combat historically widespread issues endured by the South Boston community.

If you’d like to, please explain why you feel especially connected to this (these) camp(s) in 50 words or less (i.e. I grew up in the same neighborhood and would like to work in that community.)

In a previous summer with SUP, I was a... (check all that apply)

DirectorSCJCOther SUP role

Certifications

Were you certified to lifeguard ON OR AFTER August 9, 2023?

YesNo

Lifeguard Certification Date (MM/DD/YYYY)

Lifeguard certification requires passing a written test, swimming 20 laps, treading water for six minutes, and retrieving a 10 pound object from the bottom of the pool.

I would be willing to get lifeguard (re)certified

Did you receive first aid certification either ON or AFTER August 9, 2023?

YesNo

Were you certified for CPR either ON or AFTER August 9, 2023?

YesNo

Do you have your driver's license?

Driver's license issue date

MM/DD/YYYY

Would you be willing to drive a 12 passenger van?

YesNo

Essay Questions

In our work, PBHA strives to adhere to its core values:

Love and Compassion: We choose to see people as we see ourselves and to act in a way that upholds every person’s human dignity through mutual empathy.
Social Justice: We demand equity and believe that self-actualization results from the coming together of community to ensure the opportunity for each of its members to thrive.
Community Building: We believe in the mutual understanding fostered by community, recognizing and promoting collaboration and fellowship as essential parts of service and life.
Stewardship: We celebrate an environment of integrity, accountability, and sustainability, mindful of the balance between institutional memory and intentional innovation to meet the changing needs in our communities.
Growth of People and Learning: We honor growth and learning as integral to building collective leadership, life skills, and social justice awareness in current and future generations of change agents.
Diversity: We endeavor to build a supportive environment that shares power with our constituents through strong relationships built on mutual respect across identity lines and fosters an organizational membership that includes a range of experiences and mirrors the representation we believe should exist through society at large.

We encourage you to keep our core values in mind when answering the following essay prompts.

1. Tell us about the community that has impacted you most. How has this community shaped you, and how have you contributed to shaping the community? How will your experiences in this community inform your work as an SC? (200 words or less)

2. How do you imagine building community among children in your camp group and what outcomes (academic, interpersonal, etc.) will you focus on? (150 words or less)

Professional Qualifications

Resume

Please upload a PDF file 1-page resume, with file name: "Firstname_LastName_Resume_2025". It must be file type ending in .pdf. Word and google documents will not show up if submitted.

Use this guide for resume formatting and content:

http://hwpi.harvard.edu/files/ocs/files/undergrad_resumes_and_cover_letters.pdf

References

Regulators require references for liability reasons. Please provide 3 people they can contact if needed to verify your history.

Reference 1 of 3

Reference 1 First Name

Reference 1 Last Name

Reference 1 Email address

Reference 1 Phone

Reference 1 Relationship to you (e.g. supervisor, mentee, etc.)

Reference 2 of 3

Reference 2 First Name

Reference 2 Last Name

Reference 2 Email address

Reference 2 Phone

Reference 2 Relationship to you (e.g. supervisor, mentee, etc.)

Reference 3 of 3

Reference 3 First Name

Reference 3 Last Name

Reference 3 Email address

Reference 3 Phone

Reference 3 Relationship to you (e.g. supervisor, mentee, etc.)

Signature

PBHA is an equal opportunity employer. In order to employ you as a seasonal staff member, PBHA is required to complete three background checks for you in addition to your references. PBHA must complete a Massachusetts CORI request, a SORI request, and, if you hold permanent residence in a state other than Massachusetts, a criminal background check in your home state. All of these are required by the state agency that licenses PBHA SUP camps and must be complete in advance of camp start dates to avoid negative action against the camp or individuals that could prevent camps from running each day that licensing requirements are not met.

As a requirement by Massachusetts law for working with children I authorize PBHA to perform criminal and sex offender background checks on my record. The results of these background checks will not be requested or considered in hiring decisions but may affect eligibility to work with children after hired. I understand that PBHA may also contact Harvard or my host institution for information and consent to release of information. I have completed the necessary pieces of this application truthfully and to the best of my knowledge.

Above is my digital signature verifying that I have read, understood and agreed to the above statements.

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