Company description

The Farm School, founded in 1989, is committed to its mission of connecting people to the land. Thirty-three years in, we’re listening to the land and to one another to deepen our response to the earth and its people’s yearning. The Farm School is a generous community of thoughtful educators, earth workers, animal tenders, forest stewards, cooks, and playful leaders. Our Program For Visiting Schools (PVS) along with our Summer Programming and Home School Cooperative (The Chicken Coop School) welcomes over 1500 youth and their teachers each year. Seeded within our youth programming is enough bounty – vegetables, fruit, eggs, milk, meat and more – to feed ourselves and offer these gifts to our connected communities. We’re strengthening our relationships and are committed to an ecology of liberation and mutualism.

Job description

Our Program for Visiting Schools is the centerpiece of The Farm School. Each school year, over 1,500 children come to help us care for our farm during 3-day visits. The students come with their classes, in groups of up to 40 children at once. While on the farm, students find the magic and value that comes from being with the land, working together and experiencing first hand what it means to be stewards of the earth within their communities.

Role:

Farmer Teachers work within a team of 1 or more people in their work area. The Barn (Livestock Care) Farmer Teachers lead youth through every aspect of livestock care including food and water system management, fencing, animal health and wellbeing, care and building of animal housing for our cows, goats, chickens, pigs and turkeys. Farmer Teachers are also given opportunities to learn and participate in milking cows and dairy pasteurization.

The role of each Farmer Teacher is to have the foresight and ability to organize your assigned work area in ways that are accessible for youth and allow the youth to equally engage, side by side with you, in the core elements of the work area listed above. This role is well suited for those that can engage youth in the moment at hand, have a sense of playfulness, can balance having a clear direction while maintaining flexibility on how to get there, can be responsible, clear and collaborative rather than authoritative, possess a good sense of boundaries, enjoys building relationships and can lead just enough to open up a youth's capabilities, sense of value and place on the farm.

The Barn/Livestock Farmer Teacher works in collaboration with 4 other work areas across the farm which are the Forestry/Draft Animal work area, the Kitchen/Garden work area and the Market Garden.

Core Role Responsibilities

• To organize your work area, plans and programs in ways that uplift the FS mission and goals towards Racial Equity and Liberation
• To organize your work area, plans and programs in ways that keep youths ability to engage in the task of your work area
• To be thoughtful, respectful, dependable, collaborative in your interactions with youth, recognizing their value, autonomy and personhood
• Ability to work within a schedule that has multiple transitions
• To be reliable in meeting your scheduled commitments and in your communication when changes or support is needed
• Participate in weekly programmatic activities including options, class, chores, dish clean up, evening activities, community meetings, opening and closing circles
• Desire to work closely with animals that produce the meat, eggs, mil and compost used on the farm and for our partner communities
• Desire to treat the animals and land with respect and care and to provide timely care to a sick or injured animal.
• Familiarity with hand tools, saws, sanders, drills and other shop tools are a plus
• Familiarity with tractor operation, weed wackers and mowers are a plus
• Familiarity with milking cows and operating the dairy/creamery are plus
• To bring various aspects of your hobbies, interest and identities into your work and to share these as you would like among the youth and farmer teachers.

Community Based Responsibilities

• Participate in a rotation of weekend recycling and animal chores across the farm
• Participate in vacation work week activities for your work area and group work projects that fall outside of your specific work area
• Participate in weekly staff logistical meetings and Race and Equity Within Communities focused meetings and participate in the facilitation rotation
• Participate in all Trainings, All-Staff Meetings including those on Race and Equity Within Communities

HR Based Responsibilities

• Remain current on CPR/First Aid and Food Safety certifications in collaboration with the Program Director
• Participate in feedback, check-ins and reviews as scheduled
• Read the FS Handbook and Conflict Resolution Protocols and use them as a resources when necessary

In addition to your particular position, the unpredictable nature of farming/working with youth and our shared responsibility for the care of the farm requires that all employees engage in the process of meeting the needs of the farm/program- gardens, fields, forest, barns, bunkhouses, kitchens etc. and to do so in communication with your Program Director, Co-Directors and fellow farmer/teachers. We strive for a consistent 40 - 45 hour work (a 9 hour day with an 1.5 hour paid break) and ask that any foreseen need for additional hours be discussed with your manager.

Compensation and Benefits include: $38,000 to $45,000 starting annual salary, onsite housing possible based on availability, relocation benefits, employer paid health insurance, professional development funds, farm grown food, 6 days of sick/personal time, 6 weeks paid vacation, 2% annual retirement contribution.

We serve diverse communities of students and we are striving to develop a staff that reflects that. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply to our open positions. The Farm School does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, sex, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin in any of its school administered policies or programs.

Compensation

this position is: salaried, $35,568* - $50,000

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline