River Educator

River Educators

River Educators are experienced educators who put their love for the outdoors into delivering professional K-12 education programs at various locations along the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. River Educators work side-by-side with National Park Service rangers by leading learning stations on Mississippi River field trips. River Educators are essential to our programs. They educate primarily to grades 3-6, both teaching to Minnesota state standards, and utilizing the Mississippi River as an outdoor classroom.

Essential Job Duties:

• Create, prepare, and deliver K-12 standards-based education programming to on-site locations within the park.
• Represent and promote the mission and values of both the National Park Service (NPS) and Mississippi Park Connection (MPC).
• Able to take direction from park rangers and work cooperatively with park volunteers
• Effectively communicate, teach, and interpret to both small and large groups
• Prepare materials and equipment for a class visit, including creating and assembling class materials, greeting buses, organizing classes into groups, relaying important information to visiting teachers and chaperones, and communicating safety standards.
• Meet the physical demands of an outdoor education job: lifting/carrying equipment up to 25 lbs., standing for long periods of time, walking at least two (but up to five miles) over unpaved and uneven surfaces, working in all weather conditions.

Position Details:

• PAY:
  Stipend pay of $150/Full Day (Over 4 hours); $100/Half Day (4 hours or less)
• LOCATION:
  
  Various locations within the park boundaries or in the Twin City metro area. Some training days and other jobs may require working at the NPS headquarters in downtown Saint Paul, MN.
• DATES:
  This is an intermittant position. The bulk of the work will take place in the months of February, May, September, and October in accordance with our field trip schedule.

Required Qualifications:

• A teaching license in elementary or secondary education; OR a current substitute teaching license; OR outdoor teaching experience to a K-12 audience.
• Applicants must provide a resume, participate in an interview process, and pass a stringent federal background check.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Lead teaching experience, especially in an outdoor setting.
• Experience developing environmental science curricula.

Deadline: We accept resumes and inquiries of interest from qualified applicants throughout the year. Apply below!

Learn More: Read what it's like being a River Educator:
Lora Pederson