Job Opportunities

Plaza Comunitaria Program Coordinator

This is an AmeriCorps VISTA position. You will help create a community literacy project for the Hispanic population in Louisville, which is the fastest growing immigrant population. This will be the first site in Louisville and the first active site in the state of Kentucky, with the nearest active Plaza Comunitaria program in Indianapolis, Indiana. Plaza Comunitaria is a free program provided by the Mexican government through the INEA (Instituto Nacional para la Educación de los Adultos - National Institute of Adult Education) to provide literacy, primary, and secondary education to Spanish-speaking people in the USA. Students who complete the program would be eligible to pursue a high school education through the Mexican government, or depending on their personal goals, they could prepare for the GED. Any non-Mexican students would be able to take the certificate to their home country for validation by their government's department of education.

Your service will help establish a sustainable Plaza Comunitaria to raise the educational attainment, English proficiency, and income level of Hispanics in the Louisville Metropolitan Area. You will establish the Plaza Comunitaria at The Backside Learning Center which provides educational services to the people who work with the horses in the barn area of Churchill Downs and Trackside Louisville. The Learning Center currently offers English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL), Spanish, art, citizenship, computer, music, and equine care courses as well as provides, with the help of volunteers, one-on-one ESL and GED tutoring and opportunities for conversing in English.

Responsibilities: You will establish a solid volunteer base within the community to conduct the Plaza Comunitaria. Then organize and train volunteers to assist in the management and delivery of the educational programs. At the same time you will recruit students to attend classes, and evaluate the needs/interests of the attending students. Begin to establish partnerships with community organizations with common interests in order to establish program sustainability. Write grants and acquire funding for the continuation and improvement of the program. Encourage students to continue their education in Spanish and/or enrollment in English as a Second Language classes.

Visit the AmeriCorps VISTA website listing for more information about the position.