Writers' Room Intern

APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED ON HANDSHAKE WILL NOT BE REVIEWED. 

Please complete the 826 Boston Internship Application and upload your resume and a writing sample.

About the Opportunity

826 Boston Writers’ Room Interns are placed at one of six Writers' Room sites, where they will become an integral part of students’ writing and academic journeys. 826 Boston runs Writers’ Rooms at the following Boston Public Schools:

• John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science, 55 Malcolm X Boulevard, Roxbury
• Dr. Albert D. Holland High School of Technology, 60 Washington Street, Dorchester
• Boston International Newcomers Academy, 100 Maxwell Street, Dorchester
• New Mission High School, 655 Metropolitan Ave, Hyde Park
• Boston Teachers Union K-8 Pilot School, 25 Walk Hill Street, Jamaica Plain
• Margarita Muñiz Academy, 20 Child Street, Jamaica Plain

This is an opportunity to learn about the day-to-day operations of both a nonprofit and a Boston Public School, while working with English Language Learning (ELL) students, fostering student creativity, and building classroom management skills. In addition, interns will participate in specialized training sessions and conversations with the rest of their cohort each semester (i.e. a discussion on how to support neurodivergent learners, a workshop on self-publishing, etc).

Candidates do not need to currently be enrolled in an academic program, but they must be 18 or older to apply. The internship has a flexible commitment of 10–20 hours per week for about four months. Fall interns serve from January to April.

Interns who are not otherwise receiving financial compensation will receive a stipend after completing their internship. The stipend amounts range from $580 to $1,000, depending on the amount of hours an intern works each week.  This position is also eligible for Federal Work-Study compensation through some schools. If you are eligible for Federal Work-Study, please let us know and we will try to work with your school to see if we are an eligible community partner. 
 

Mission:

826 Boston is a nonprofit writing, tutoring, and publishing organization where students in grades K-12 and beyond can share their stories, amplify their voices, and develop as leaders in school and in life.
 

What you’ll do:

• Serve as a tutor to K-12 students seeking support with writing assignments in the Writers’ Room through class visits, individual drop-ins, writing workshops, clubs, and publication projects.
  • The age group you work with is dependent on the school you are placed in. 
• Assist Writers’ Room staff with tasks as requested, which include, but are not limited to updating writing resource materials, taking student attendance, distributing feedback surveys, supporting after-school clubs, or helping decorate and maintain our whimsical, imaginative space.
• Meet weekly with your supervisor to communicate project progress, receive individualized training on tasks, and seek counsel when help is needed to execute goals.

Skills and experiences:

826 Boston recognizes that impostor syndrome and the confidence gap might prevent some applicants from applying. Few candidates will have all of the relevant experience listed below, but 826 Boston is committed to assessing candidates with transferable skills and a willingness to be trained for this role.

• Enthusiastic belief in the mission of 826 Boston, passion for writing and interest in the social-emotional learning of youth.
• Interest and/or experience in teaching and tutoring writing to middle and high school students in urban communities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• The ability to take direction, seek counsel when needed, proactively identify needs and opportunities, and propose programmatic innovations.
• Proficiency and/or willingness to learn virtual platforms, such as Google Meet, Zoom, and Google Suite (Docs, Sheets, Forms).
• Familiarity with the Boston Public Schools system, particularly the schools in Roxbury preferred, but not required.
• Proficiency in Spanish, Vietnamese, French, Haitian Creole, or Cape Verdean Creole, is a plus but not required.

Application Instructions: Please complete the 826 Boston Internship Application and upload your resume and a writing sample.

Your writing sample should not exceed 500 words and can be any genre—a piece of fiction, an academic essay, a long-form poem, etc. You are welcome to submit a cover letter as your writing sample if you prefer. Please only submit what you feel comfortable sharing with a future supervisor. 

Applications will be reviewed by 826 Boston on a rolling basis. If you have questions or would like to check on the status of your application, please contact intern@826boston.org. 

All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
 

About Us

826 Boston is part of a national network of youth writing centers, co-founded by the award-winning author Dave Eggers and educator Nínive Calegari, that were named in GOOD Magazine’s “30 Places We Want to Work.” Since opening in 2007, 826 Boston has delivered its free youth writing and tutoring programs to more than 32,000 students and has been recognized by The Boston Globe as one of the best places in the city to volunteer. 826 Boston’s youth writers have published their work in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and in numerous award-winning 826 Boston books, including A Place for Me in the World, which was hailed as a “triumph of middle school education” by The Boston Globe. In 2013, the 826 National network garnered the prestigious American Literacy Prize awarded by the Library of Congress.
 

826 Boston Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement 

At 826 Boston, we honor and actively work toward diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) across our organization. We are committed to centering the voices of the students who we serve, to creating inclusive spaces, and to incorporating feedback from our community into our decision-making processes. Our DEI lens is always evolving through the courageous conversations in which we participate and the relationships that we build through our work and service. We strengthen our cultural competency through experience, training, and feedback, which informs the development of all new organizational practices and goals and the evaluation of all existing procedures.

826 Boston is dedicated to providing a platform for student advocacy through writing and publishing opportunities. In our work and mission, we are committed to dismantling white supremacy culture by recognizing that we are complicit in systems of racism and oppression. We will work to hold ourselves accountable in addressing these harmful structures and behaviors.

Accommodations

826 Boston provides reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities at every stage of the application process. Disclosing a disability or requesting a need for accommodations is a separate process from admissions and will have absolutely no bearing on a candidate’s application status. 826 Boston will make every effort to meet your request, but specific requests are not guaranteed. If you need to request an accommodation, please contact Logan Smith at logan@826boston.org.