In Fourth or Fifth Grade, my elementary school started facing overcrowding. It wasn’t a huge deal, because it was a suburban school with a relatively low target class size, but they decided to bring in “portable” classrooms to fix the problem. By portable they meant brought in on a flat bed and never going anywhere again. The inside of the portable classrooms were nearly identical to other classrooms and kids went on learning in them just like any other classroom. School On Wheels is a Santa Barbara, CA based non-profit that brings a completely new meaning to portable classroom. Despite what their logo might make you think, they don’t have a bus that also serves as a classroom. They create classrooms wherever they’re needed to educate homeless children. It all started in 1993 with:

Agnes Stevens, a retired teacher, read a book that changed her life. The book was about homeless families in the US. Agnes was shocked to learn that hundreds of thousands of children were homeless and that many of them did not attend school. She began teaching homeless kids in a park in Santa Monica, California encouraging them to stay in school and keep up with their grades and school activities.

Now they have hundreds of tutors supporting thousands of homeless students.

Jobs On Wheels

According to School on Wheels’ website, the “average age of a homeless person is 9 years old!” That’s an astounding statistic, and it illustrates how much of a need there is for an organization like School on Wheels. If you’re looking to work at an education focused non-profit, then School On Wheels is definitely worth a look. They don’t seem to have a Jobs page, but they do post their jobs on Idealist. Right now there’s only one job that looks appropriate for new grads – it’s as a Tutor Coordinator. There’s no word on Tutor positions, but one would imagine that they’re always looking for more tutors too. To apply for the Tutor Coordinator position, send a cover letter and resume to jsettles@schoolonwheels.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• SchoolOnWheels.org
• Jobs at School On Wheels (Idealist)
• About School on Wheels
• School On Wheels’ FAQ
• School On Wheels’ Services
• The School On Wheels Team

What do you know about School On Wheels?

We've identified School On Wheels as having career opportunities in the following categories:

• all employers
• California
• education
• non-profit
• teaching

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