Job description

Edible Schoolyard NYC works to transform the hearts, minds, and eating habits of young New Yorkers through a seed to table education that is integrated into schools.

The Kitchen Teacher conducts regular cooking/nutrition education classes for students grade K­8, and assists in the maintenance and operation of a productive culinary classroom. The Kitchen Teacher also participates in outreach activities, including professional development and extracurricular events. The position reports to the Program Director and Director of Education of Edible Schoolyard NYC.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

TEACHING

●  Co-­teach daily kitchen/nutrition education classes, which include both culinary and academic components and are appropriate to an ethnically diverse, urban Pre K­8 student population.

●  Teach fundamentals of culinary education including knife skills, cooking methods, produce identification, and recipe literacy.

●  Work with school faculty to find ways to connect kitchen class with the skills and knowledge students are learning in their own classrooms.

●  Lead a group of students in the completion of the day’s recipe.

●  Consistently enact routines and rituals for all kitchen classes.

●  Model respect and curiosity for learning.

●  Encourage students’ interests and talents.

●  Strengthen students’ understanding of garden and kitchen connections, as well as how the food we eat affects their bodies, their community, and their planet.

●  Create and lead professional development trainings in collaboration with the Director of Education to help educators at their own sites and throughout the area learn how to teach kitchen and garden­ based lessons.

●  Contribute to drafting, editing, and piloting new curricula for classes and extracurricular programs. This includes lesson planning and creating manipulatives and worksheets.

●  Assist with copying and and preparing non-­food teaching supplies for classes, programming, and events.

KITCHEN/CULINARY

●  Ensure that ingredients are properly prepped for classes based on use in recipes and age­ appropriateness of class.

●  Maintain equipment, paper goods, cleaning supplies and ingredients for all classes.

●  Handle and store all ingredients properly for food safety.

●  Complete daily kitchen maintenance and special cleaning projects including laundry, dishes, sanitizing surfaces.

●  Maintain teaching kitchen facilities and equipment in good working order.

●  Support all culinary ­related events and activities.

MANAGEMENT, COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH

●  Remain engaged, knowledgeable, and up to date about the garden and know what plants are ready to harvest at any given time throughout the year.

●  Stay informed of school events and activities. Be an active presence in the school community and attend school meetings and events as appropriate.

●  Actively support a culture of wellness at the school.

●  Participate in Edible Schoolyard NYC staff meetings, staff development days and program development meetings.

●  Participate in Edible Schoolyard NYC extracurricular events and community outreach efforts—including the occasional evening and weekend.

●  Lead garden and kitchen tours, and participate in development activities when appropriate in collaboration with our Development Team.

●  Help ensure an engaging and rewarding experience for volunteers. Orient volunteers to the kitchen and kitchen ­related responsibilities.

EDUCATION, RELATED EXPERIENCE AND LICENSES

●  Bachelor’s degree required.

●  Culinary Certification or culinary experience preferred.

●  Experience teaching elementary aged students required.

●  Experience teaching cooking classes strongly preferred.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS AND WORKING CONDITIONS

●  Ability to stand, reach, and bend. Mobility of arms to reach, dexterity of hands to grasp and manipulate large and small objects.

●  Ability to stand for long periods.

●  Ability to lift, push and/or pull objects, which may be approximately 50 pounds.

●  Willingness to smell, taste, and feel garden produce.

●  Willingness to eat the food prepared during the day’s lesson.

●  May be required to work around loud noise.

●  Willingness to work outdoors under all weather conditions.

●  Willingness to work occasional weekends/special events when needed.

●  Excellent time management skills.

POSITION DETAILS

This is a full time job starting August 17th, 2015. Some weekend and evening work is required. Salary commensurate with experience.

Compensation

this position is:

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline