Assistant Teacher at Local Schools

About the Program

The foundation for a good education begins at the early childhood level. Early childhood systems in the Caribbean have been going through several changes over the last 10 years as gradually improvements are being made to ensure that each child has a solid start. However, the resources remain very limited and the support from volunteers to assist with teaching and learning is critical to improving this system. This then impacts the primary education system where there are low literacy and numeracy rates in a number of schools; levels that are unacceptably high. Teaching volunteers can work in different schools with varying age groups; early childhood institutions (3-6 years), primary school (6-12 years), primary and junior high schools and high schools (12-18 years).

Your role as a volunteer is to offer support to teachers primarily in English and Mathematics but you may also be able to assist with other subjects such as art, dance, drama, history, social studies, geography, French and Spanish dependent on your skill sets and the needs of the schools. You will assist a teacher with preparing lesson plans and charts, educational games, small workshops and facilitate lessons that are interactive and fun. You may also be given an opportunity to teach the children about your culture as they are always fascinated by this.

Volunteers will also be involved in monthly outreach activities providing services and support to children.

The Location

The project is located in or close to the town of Mandeville - Jamaica, normally 10-15 minutes away from the town centre. The school are early childhood or primary schools operated by the government.

Safety and Support

Traveling in and around the Caribbean is safe, but like anywhere in the world, there are just some basic travel and safety tips you should follow.

Your safety is our number one priority. We ensure that programmes, projects, accommodations and communities are safe for our volunteers to work and live by conducting risk assessments and preparing risk management and safety plans. We provide a detailed orientation the day after arrival which includes the necessary safety tips. Background and reference checks of staff, host families and volunteers are completed. We have first aid qualified staff and proper emergency response planning.

As a responsible provider of volunteer placement opportunities, we ensure that we provide information and support about safety and security to our volunteers. With our risk management and safety plans across programmes and countries, we take a comprehensive approach and provide volunteers with the relevant knowledge needed for them to keep safe, secure and healthy while volunteering on our programmes.

Before leaving home our staff will provide safety tips and information to volunteers. On arrival there is a comprehensive one day orientation that further helps to prepare volunteers for their experience. It covers a wide range of topics that allows the volunteer to understand the local culture, programme objectives, expectations, health and safety and other key elements. All host families and programme partners are required to adhere to the risk management and safety plans. The plan guides the identification, assessment, analysis, mitigation of all risks associated with each programme and procedure of our organization. 

Our team is available 24-hours each day to provide support to volunteers if the need arises. 

Travel Tips

Volunteers will travel by taxi to and from their projects. On orientation day a staff member will travel with you on a taxi and show you the route and how to find your taxi area. While traveling around we advise that you take only the registered taxis which are clearly marked. We also recommend that you:

• Never travel with your passport as this is not necessary, leave it at your host family
  
• Do not walk around late at nights
  
• If you are out at nights call a taxi to pick you up from your location (we will provide numbers for taxis you can use)
  
• Do not walk around and always show your phone, laptops or ipads/tablet
  

It is not only about work, although that is important. Once per week we coordinate a social and cultural event for you. You get to learn more about the culture of the island by learning patois (the local language), dancing to the sweet reggae and dancehall music, cooking delicious meals and exploring other aspects of the truly unique Jamaican culture. On the weekends you can explore other parts of the island such as the waterfalls, rivers, beautiful beaches, rustic countryside, mountain climbing - as you will be chilling in Caribbean.