Middle School Academic Coordinator Lawrence

About Squash Busters

Squash Busters (SQB) is a 29‑year‑old sports‑based youth development program that uses a combination of squash, fitness, academic support and enrichment, community service, and mentoring to improve the lives of youth in Boston, Lawrence, and Providence. Squash Busters' mission is to challenge and nurture youth in these cities – as students, athletes, and citizens – so that they can recognize and fulfill their greatest potential in life.

Squash Busters currently serves 300 middle school and high school students who practice three days a week throughout the school year and participate in weekend practices, tournaments, and summer opportunities. After high school graduation, students join the Post‑Secondary Success Program, and a dedicated staff team supports them in their chosen post‑secondary path, and provides career development, internship placement, and employment opportunities.

Squash Busters currently serves 180 post‑secondary students, and with our first class of Providence post‑secondary students, the program is growing. In Boston, programming takes place at the Badger‑Rosen Squash Busters Center located on Northeastern University’s campus. In Providence, we work and play out of the Gorgi Squash Busters Center on the campus of Moses Brown School. In Lawrence, we recently opened our own state‑of‑the‑art facility, the New Balance Foundation Squash Busters Center in partnership with the city.

Our core values are Love, Honesty, Attention, Teamwork, and High Standards. Do these match yours?

The Squash Busters Middle School Academic Coordinator is responsible for planning and running homework help sessions, special events, and academic enrichment programming for 6th‑8th graders. Additionally, the Middle School Academic Coordinator will plan and coordinate sessions that support 8th graders with their high school planning and applications. As a member of the program team, they will collaborate with the Executive Director of Programming and all program staff to ensure an integrated approach to SQB academic, sport, and character development programs.

Through these programs, the program staff will challenge, nurture, and hold accountable SQB youth so that they recognize and fulfill their potential.

Lawrence, Massachusetts

Executive Director of Programming

• Directly support a caseload of 6th‑8th grade students across SQB's program pillars: college, character, and health.
• Plan, supervise, and direct impactful and innovative enrichment activities to help students persist through middle school, as well as to prepare them for the transition from middle to high school.
• Plan, supervise, and direct daily homework help sessions to support students’ schoolwork and prepare supplemental activities for students who have completed their homework.
• Work with students and families to navigate and successfully complete the high school choice, ISEE test prep, and/or private school application process with a focus on fit for each family.
• Recruit and/or assist in recruiting ~40 student try‑outs per year for the SQB program.
• Manage academic volunteers during homework and academic enrichment sessions.
• Meet with colleagues to coordinate and complete shared responsibilities.
• Build a culture of community, leading from a transformative relationship and youth development perspective, within the middle school cohort.
• Create and maintain documentation of team building, leadership, and enrichment activities.
• Drive students to/from practices and special events in Squash Busters vehicles 2‑3 times/week.

• Communicate consistently with parents/guardians to ensure required forms (annual paperwork, waivers, permission slips etc.) are complete and updated regularly.
• Communicate with parents/guardians so that they feel like part of the SQB community and can support their student’s growth and development at home; meet regularly with families about the secondary school process and their student’s progress as needed.
• Organize and lead parent/guardian meetings as needed.
• Monitor students’ progress in school by communicating with students’ teachers, advisors, and…