San Juan Board of Cooperative Educational Services

701 Camino del Rio, Suite 221

Durango, Colorado  81301

970-247-3261

JOB DESCRIPTION

Title:  LENA Provider

Program Overview: Led by the United Way of SWCO (UWSWC), Team UP AmeriCorps places AmeriCorps members at organizations throughout Southwest Colorado to focus on improving the lives of community members, from cradle to career. Team UP has been utilizing collective impact initiatives since 2015 to collaborate across sectors and promote communication towards common goals within rural Southwest Colorado communities. Team UP AmeriCorps members provide direct service to improve outcomes in Education, Economic Opportunity & Healthy Futures. AmeriCorps, often referred to as the “domestic Peace Corps,” provides opportunities to improve lives and foster civic engagement all across the country.

SJBOCES provides shared educational programs and services to eight school districts in southwest Colorado.. In partnership with the districts served, SJBOCES builds capacity to ensure the personal success of all students. Our mission is to build collaborative and cooperative regional education reform initiatives, by maximizing and leveraging regional resources to provide a continuum of quality services for all students and families. In 2022 SJBOCES applied to become a Local Coordinating Organization, (LCO), responsible for implementation of the statewide Universal Preschool initiative in our region. If designated as the LCO in July of 2022 SJBOCES will have a strong leadership role in early childhood and family programming.  

Service Position Summary: The LENA Provider will deliver LENA Home and LENA Start programs to engage and empower families with evidence-based practices that support the learning and growth of

children, birth to three years old. The LENA Provider will serve directly with families to support their

child’s language and overall brain development through increasing the adult interactive talk in the child’s family environment. This member will serve Montezuma and Dolores counties directly and collaborate with other LENA providers in the region to provide and support LENA programming to families in Archuleta, La Plata, and San Juan Counties, as applicable. As a member of Talk Grow Learn, the Team UP of Southwest Colorado collective impact action team, the LENA Provider will communicate and partner with additional family resource agencies in the region.

Essential Functions (Primary Responsibilities): Team UP AmeriCorps members engage with

organizations to develop, implement, and enhance programs, projects, and activities that will create

progress towards Team UP’s and SjBOCES’s goals. These duties include:

• Facilitate and support LENA HOME and LENA START programs to families in a home, family group, in-person or online setting by providing information and coaching and empowering them to increase interactive talk and learning in the child’s environment
• Schedule and provide home visits, in person or online, with interested and participating families
• Actively recruit LENA participants for continuous LENA programming
• Attend local events to inform and actively recruit and enroll families in LENA programming
• Collaborate with partner agencies to recruit participants, and organize and facilitate LENA programming in the region
• Outreach to the community via stakeholder meetings, communications, and presentations
• Track progress and collect data for Performance Measures and other evaluation tools
• Attend Team UP AmeriCorps regional trainings, cohort connection days, and Days of Service

Marginal Functions (Secondary Responsibilities): Additional tasks include:

• Maintain and monitor documentation of program data
• Manage curriculum and materials for the program, including inventory sharing with collaborating organizations.
• Communicate with Site Supervisor on progress and anticipated program supply needs.
• Participate in Every Child Enters School Ready to Learn/Talk-Grow-Learn TeamUP Action Team

Physical, Emotional, and Intellectual Demands:

• Willingness to learn, adapt, and grow in a position
• Understanding of or willingness to learn principles of adult learning
• Ability to serve independently, take initiative, and be motivated by the projects they are doing
• Compassion and awareness: self-awareness, awareness of cultural differences, social differences and understanding of implicit bias
• Strong commitment to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion
• Desire and proven ability to work with families and young children
• Comfort and effectiveness in providing training and education to families in their homes or via video conferencing platforms 
• Comfort and effectiveness in outreach activities at in person events and social networking in person and through online tools.

Desired Qualifications:

• Ethic of national and community service and a strong desire to create positive change
• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing; computer literate
• High School Graduate required (GED accepted,) college graduate or equivalent work experience preferred
• Ability to pass criminal history check
• Reliable transportation & proof of auto insurance
• U.S. Citizenship or lawful permanent resident status required
• Excellent communication skills. Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing; computer literate
• Understanding of culturally diverse populations
• Self-motivation, ability to take initiative
• Ability to plan, coordinate with others, and organize schedule, including travel time
• Skills or experience preferred: community and volunteer organizing; early childhood development, family training experience 
• Those who understand the importance of a rich home language environment in the first three years of life in supporting a child’s overall later success, and who want to support the health and success of the children in a rural community, are encouraged to apply 
• Individuals with lived experience are encouraged to apply

Term of Service - Time Commitment: This is a Half-Time national and community service position

requiring, at a minimum, a total of 900 hours during the year (approximately 20 hours/week.) The

position begins September 8, 2022 and ends August 31, 2023. Flexible hours are required, including

occasional evening and weekend commitments. Service on the following dates is required (note that

Days of Service dates are subject to change):

• Sept. 8-9: Team UP AmeriCorps Member Orientation
• Sept. 12-13: Host Site Orientation
• October TBD: State-wide AmeriCorps Member Retreat
• Jan. 16th : MLK Jr. Day of Service Event
• March/April TBD: Cesar Chavez Day of Service Event
• Team UP AmeriCorps Monthly Cohort Calls/Meetings: 2nd Tuesday of each month
• Team UP AmeriCorps Trainings (TATs): 2nd Tuesday of Nov, Feb, April, and June (all day)

Training and Support Provided: Team UP AmeriCorps members receive significant training and

experience in community engagement, project implementation, leadership, diverse populations, and

more. Up to 20% of total hours served may be spent in applicable, approved trainings. Members will be

supervised and supported by Cayce Hamerschlag, Speech-language Pathologist

(chamerschlag@sjboces.org), as well as by Al Huckins, Team UP AmeriCorps Program Director

(alh@unitedway-swco.org). The PY 22-23 cohort of Team UP AmeriCorps members serving throughout

the region will act as additional resources and support for each other.

Location and Service Conditions: This position is based at San Juan BOCES, 2003 Industrial Rd. Cortez, CO 81321. Regular travel in the counties served is expected. Occasional off site engagement and

partnership activities, meetings, etc.

Benefits:

• A living allowance of approx. $489.58/per pay period (twice per month) for an approx. total of $11,750/12-month Term of Service. Taxes are deducted and the living allowance is distributed by direct, deposit to the member’s bank account.
• An education award of $3,247.5 upon successful completion of term of service.
• It is possible to temporarily postpone repayment of qualified student loans through forbearance while serving as an AmeriCorps member 
• Mileage reimbursement for travel to required trainings and days of service
• Non-tangible benefits including extensive training, valuable experience, networking, and the opportunity to serve the local community in a crucial area of need 
• Cell phone plan

Diversity and Equal Opportunity: United Way values the diversity of our community. In principle and in practice the diverse nature of our board, staff, and volunteers is recognized as one of our best assets.

We respect each individual’s unique gifts and prohibit unfair or discriminatory practices against anyone

because of age, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, gender, sexual orientation, and any other

protected category.

To Apply:

Step 1. Email a cover letter and resume to Team UP AmeriCorps Program Director Al Huckins @

alh@unitedway-swco.org. Be sure to indicate which position(s) you are interested in.

Step 2. Create an account on myAmeriCorps.gov and submit an application to be a Team UP: LENA

Provider. Please complete BOTH steps to apply.

*All positions are contingent on grant funding.