Position: WITS Writer - Creative Writing Teacher

The application period for the 2011-2012 school year has closed. Applications are accepted year-round. We will be recruiting again during the summer of 2012.

About: WITS is looking for 10-12 writers who can teach the joy of creative writing to young people. Employment is part-time, typically 2-6 hours of teaching one day a week from September - May. A yearlong commitment is required; however, writers who are selected to be on the WITS roster are not guaranteed immediate teaching opportunities.

The pay is $55 per teaching hour. In addition to teaching, the job duties include preparing lessons, responding to student work, and compiling anthologies of student writing at the end of the school year.

We are looking for writers and educators with teaching or mentoring experience who can convey their passion for the written word in ways that are relevant for Houston-area children. In particular, we are seeking bilingual writers, but others are encouraged to apply as well.

WITS Writer Accountabilities:
• Prepare creative writing lessons focusing on the writing process, incorporating reading selections, and writing prompts that are inspiring, relevant, and appropriate
• Provide written feedback to students on their writing
• Attend required writer meetings, trainings, and events
• Keep track of excellent student work and submit it to WITS staff as requested for displays, on-line and print publication, etc.
• Coordinate end-of-year culminating events for your classes
• Choose and prepare one student per classroom for our annual student reading
• Produce classroom anthologies of your students’ writing
• Reflect on and evaluate your residency

Required Qualifications:
• A love and enthusiasm for writing and a desire to teach students the writing process
• Teaching or mentoring experience, experience with elementary, middle, or high school students preferred
• Interest in collaborating with public school teachers
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Outstanding organizational skills and attention to detail
• Availability to teach the same day every week throughout the academic year (September – May)

How to apply:

Applications are accepted year-round. To be considered for the 2011-2012 school year, applications must be received by August 5, 2011. Applicants selected for interviews will be contacted in August.

If you are selected to interview, you will be asked to discuss three specific writing goals you might have for a residency and specific teaching exercises/lesson plans you would use to help students achieve those goals.

Applicants who are selected to teach with WITS must attend mandatory WITS orientation and training on a date TBD.

If you are interested in teaching with WITS, please submit a cover letter, your teaching and artistic résumé with 3 references, and 10-page writing sample to mail@witshouston.org or mail to:

Jack McBride, Program Director
1523 West Main
Houston, TX 77006

About WITS: WITS is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that engages children in the pleasure and power of reading and writing. WITS writers work in year-long programs in over 350 classrooms in order to help students develop their creative and analytical thinking skills. With a focus on at-risk, inner city students, WITS also offers workshops in art museums, hospitals, community centers, private schools, and juvenile detention centers.

WITS is involved in national initiatives, such as mentoring similar writers-in-schools programs, serving as a model for multidisciplinary arts educators, and designing curricula for use in schools. WITS writers also lead in-services and writing workshops for teachers.