Position Title: Youth Development Mentor – Little Luminaries (Grades K–1)
Reports To: Director of Education Programs / After School Program Site Director
Compensation: $19–$24 per hour, depending on experience and qualifications

Location: Perry Street Prep, 1800 Perry St. NE, Washington, DC 20018

Position Summary

Beacon House seeks a warm, energetic, patient, and highly dependable Youth Development Mentor (YDM) to lead Little Luminaries, our afterschool program designed specifically for students in Kindergarten and 1st Grade.

Little Luminaries provides our youngest students with a safe, joyful, and structured afterschool experience that supports their transition into elementary school and helps them develop strong foundations as learners and members of a community. Through literacy, academic enrichment, social-emotional learning, creative exploration, hands-on activities, and play, students build confidence, independence, curiosity, and positive learning habits.

The ideal candidate genuinely enjoys working with young children and understands that Kindergarten and 1st Grade students need a balance of structure, movement, nurturing relationships, repetition, exploration, and fun. This individual is able to create clear routines, give developmentally appropriate directions, maintain high expectations with warmth, and turn everyday moments into opportunities for learning and growth.

The Youth Development Mentor serves as both a facilitator and caring adult presence who helps Little Luminaries students feel safe, capable, connected, and excited to return each day.

Essential Responsibilities

Early Childhood & Youth Development

Build warm, supportive, and developmentally appropriate relationships with Kindergarten and 1st Grade students.
Create a safe, welcoming, joyful, and inclusive environment where every child feels known, valued, and supported.
Help students develop independence, confidence, responsibility, curiosity, and positive learning habits.
Model and reinforce age-appropriate social skills, including sharing, taking turns, communicating needs, problem-solving, and working with others.
Recognize and respond appropriately to the developmental, emotional, and academic needs of young learners.
Maintain high expectations while providing students with the patience, encouragement, repetition, and support necessary to be successful.

Program Facilitation

Implement the Little Luminaries curriculum and daily program structure with consistency and enthusiasm.
Facilitate developmentally appropriate activities in literacy, academic enrichment, social-emotional learning, STEM, creative arts, life skills, and project-based learning.
Support students with homework and school-related learning activities.
Facilitate daily reading and DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) routines that help students build reading stamina and positive reading identities.
Facilitate Beacon House's designated social-emotional learning curriculum and reinforcement activities.
Lead hands-on activities that encourage creativity, exploration, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving.
Use read-alouds, games, movement, songs, discussion, and hands-on experiences to make learning engaging and accessible.
Adapt activities and provide additional support when students have different learning needs, abilities, or levels of readiness.

Learning Environment & Behavior Support

Establish and consistently reinforce clear classroom routines, procedures, and expectations.
Create smooth transitions between arrival, snack, homework, reading, enrichment, recreation, and dismissal.
Use positive reinforcement, redirection, restorative practices, and developmentally appropriate behavior supports.
Help students learn to identify emotions, regulate their behavior, solve problems, and make positive choices.
Respond calmly and consistently to challenging behaviors.
Maintain active supervision of students at all times.
Create an environment where students can safely learn, play, take risks, make mistakes, and try again.

Student Learning & Development

Observe student participation, engagement, behavior, academic habits, and social-emotional development.
Provide individualized encouragement and support based on student needs.
Track student progress toward Little Luminaries program goals and student development outcomes.
Celebrate student growth, effort, creativity, kindness, and accomplishments.
Identify students who may need additional academic, behavioral, social-emotional, or family support and communicate concerns to the appropriate Beacon House staff member.
Collaborate with volunteers and other support staff to provide small-group and individualized assistance.

Family Engagement

Build welcoming and respectful relationships with parents and caregivers.
Communicate regularly with families about student successes, participation, attendance, and concerns.
Share positive moments and examples of student growth.
Support family orientations, celebrations, showcases, conferences, and other engagement activities.
Maintain professionalism and confidentiality when communicating about students and families.
Serve as a trusted connection between Beacon House and Little Luminaries families.

Collaboration & Teamwork

Work collaboratively with the Director of Education Programs, Education Program Manager, Site Coordinator, fellow Youth Development Mentors, volunteers, and community partners.
Provide clear direction to volunteers and other adults supporting the Little Luminaries program space.
Participate in staff meetings, professional development, coaching, and program planning sessions.
Receive and implement feedback designed to strengthen program quality and student experiences.
Communicate proactively with supervisors regarding student needs, supplies, programming concerns, and classroom challenges.
Support cross-program activities, organizational events, and other Beacon House initiatives as needed.

Administration & Organization

Maintain accurate student attendance and required program documentation.
Prepare daily lesson materials and supplies in advance.
Maintain a clean, organized, safe, and student-friendly learning environment.
Complete lesson plans, student observations, progress documentation, and other required program data.
Ensure student materials, books, games, and supplies are properly maintained and stored.
Follow Beacon House policies and procedures related to student safety, dismissal, incident reporting, mandated reporting, and family communication.

Required Qualifications

High school diploma or equivalent required.
Minimum of three (3) years of experience working directly with young children, preferably students in Kindergarten through 2nd Grade, in a school, afterschool program, childcare program, summer camp, recreation program, or community-based organization.
Demonstrated ability to successfully manage and engage groups of young children.
Strong understanding of—or willingness to learn—developmentally appropriate practices for Kindergarten and 1st Grade students.
Ability to create and maintain consistent routines, expectations, and transitions.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
Patience, flexibility, energy, and enthusiasm for working with young learners.
Excellent reliability, organization, and time-management skills.
Ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues, families, volunteers, and community partners.
Commitment to equity, inclusion, cultural responsiveness, and positive youth development.
CPR/First Aid Certification or willingness to obtain certification.

Preferred Qualifications

Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, Child Development, Youth Development, Human Services, Psychology, Social Work, or a related field.
Current or former early childhood or elementary classroom teacher, paraprofessional, teaching assistant, or instructional aide.
Experience working specifically with Kindergarten and/or 1st Grade students.
Experience in out-of-school-time (OST) or afterschool programming.
Experience supporting early literacy and foundational math skills.
Experience implementing social-emotional learning (SEL) programming.
Experience with project-based, hands-on, or play-based learning.
Experience working with diverse urban youth and families.

Desired Competencies

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

Genuine joy and enthusiasm for working with young children
Patience and emotional consistency
Strong relationship-building skills
Warm but firm classroom leadership
Developmentally appropriate behavior management
Creativity and playfulness
Strong communication skills
Flexibility and adaptability
Initiative and self-direction
Collaborative mindset
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
Professionalism and reliability
Cultural responsiveness
Positive attitude and growth mindset
Ability to make learning engaging, active, and fun
Ability to recognize and celebrate small steps of student growth

Physical Requirements

Ability to actively participate in indoor and outdoor activities with young children.
Ability to sit on the floor, stand, walk, bend, kneel, and move throughout program spaces.
Ability to actively supervise students during classroom activities, recreation, transitions, and dismissal.
Ability to lift and carry program materials up to 25 pounds.

Schedule

This is primarily an afterschool position Monday–Friday, with a typical start time of approximately 4:00 PM with the exception of Monday; the start time will be 1:30pm (some flexibility may be available). Occasional evenings, Saturdays, school breaks, professional development sessions, family events, and special events may be required throughout the school year.

Why Join Beacon House?

At Beacon House, we believe the earliest school years are an important time for children to discover who they are as learners, friends, creators, and community members.

Our Little Luminaries Youth Development Mentors do more than supervise an afterschool classroom. They help children learn how to navigate a community, develop confidence, discover the joy of reading and learning, build friendships, solve problems, and believe in what they are capable of achieving.

For our youngest students, a caring and consistent adult can shape how they experience school and learning for years to come. We are looking for mentors who are ready to create that kind of experience every day.

Compensation: $19–$24 per hour, depending on experience and qualifications.

To Apply

Please send a short statement of interest and your resume to jobs@beaconhousedc.org.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Job Type: Part-time

Pay: $19.00 - $24.00 per hour

Education:

High school or equivalent (Required)

Experience:

Working with students: 3 years (Required)

Work Location: In person

Beacon House DC

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