Youth Program Assistant - Part-Time, Alpha - $30,000​/year USD

On-site location:
Alpha Schools, Scottsdale (Phoenix), AZ

• $30/hr | 15–30 hours per week | Full-time track available at $60,000 annually + benefits
• Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM–4:00 PM (flexible schedule within school operating hours)

If you think "assistant" means observing from the sidelines and stepping in only during emergencies, this role won't be a fit.

Alpha delivers a compressed K-12 learning experience: minute-by-minute structure, faster pace than conventional schools, and centered on a Guide whose sole focus is delivering instruction. This system works only when someone takes ownership of the operational foundation — ensuring seamless transitions, materials staged before lessons begin, and student focus maintained before minor distractions escalate.

You'll be fully engaged from day one. No gradual onboarding. You'll be actively monitoring the classroom, implementing Alpha's approved motivational strategies (positive reinforcement, structured prompts, immediate redirection), and staging every activity so the Guide can begin teaching without delay. When you execute effectively, a student losing focus is brought back before the lesson loses momentum. The standards are specific: 95% on-time transitions, lesson materials prepared in advance, sustained student engagement.

As you gain proficiency in Alpha's approach, your responsibilities expand. Assistants who demonstrate mastery of the operational foundation advance to greater classroom ownership — and for qualified candidates, the progression to Guide is straightforward.

What You Will Be Doing

• Managing student transitions between lesson blocks (approximately 30% of your time): tracking time, cueing students to move, and applying positive reinforcement to maintain organized, on-schedule flow
• Staging classroom materials ahead of instruction by collecting supplies, arranging them according to the activity plan, and verifying the setup aligns with the Guide's requirements before teaching starts
• Supporting student engagement during structured lessons (approximately 40% of your time) by observing participation, catching disengagement early, and re-engaging students using Alpha's established classroom management methods without disrupting instruction

What You Won’t Be Doing

• Watching passively from the back of the classroom until problems arise — this position demands active involvement and real-time judgment calls throughout the day
• Creating curriculum, developing activity plans, or owning academic results (those fall to the Guide)
• Improvising your own student behavior strategies;
  Alpha's motivational techniques are standardized and you'll implement them uniformly
• Handling facility operations, carpool coordination, or after-school programming; your focus is classroom operations during instructional hours

Youth Program Assistant Key Responsibilities

Maintain Alpha's classroom operations so Guides remain fully dedicated to teaching.

Basic Requirements

• Available to work on-site at our Scottsdale campus.
• Commit to a minimum of 10 hours weekly, with complete flexibility to set your schedule during school hours (Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM). Full-time option available.
• Prior experience working with children ages 5–14 in structured environments (school, camp, childcare, tutoring, or coaching).
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate people, materials, and tasks efficiently and effectively.
• Comfortable working with children and redirecting behavior through positive encouragement.
• Legal authorization to work in the U.S. without requiring visa sponsorship.

Nice-to-have Requirements

• Direct experience managing groups of children in active settings (camp counselor, classroom aide, teacher's aide, paraprofessional, youth sports coach, or after-school program coordinator)
• Background in mastery-based, competency-based, or highly structured learning environments (Montessori, project-based learning, or comparable models)
• Proven ability to maintain group schedules through positive redirection without escalating to higher-level intervention

About Alpha

Join the team building school around student growth

Alpha reimagines the school day around faster learning, stronger mentorship, and…