Youth Program Assistant - Part-Time, Alpha - $30,000/year USD

Alpha School; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 34,000 - 49,000; Part time

Job summary

Alpha is seeking a Youth Program Assistant to keep classroom operations running so Guides can focus on instruction. This on-site role at our Scottsdale campus offers a part-time schedule (20 hours/week) with the possibility of a full-time path.

You’ll monitor transitions, prepare materials, and engage students aged 5–14 using Alpha-approved techniques. Employment is through an independent contractor agreement with Crossover as Contractor of Record, at $30 USD/hour, 50 weeks/year estimated.

Qualifications

• Experience working with children ages 5–14 in a structured setting.
• Ability to coordinate people, materials, and activities quickly and effectively.
• Kid-friendly and comfortable redirecting children using encouragement.

Responsibilities

• Supervising student transitions between activities (roughly 30% of your time).
• Preparing classroom materials before each lesson by gathering supplies and organizing them per the activity plan.
• Facilitating student engagement during structured activities by monitoring participation and redirecting when needed.

Skills

Child care experience

Classroom management

Communication

Job description

"All of my students came back in the top 1% for growth and achievement on their MAP scores."— Sam DePalo, Lead Guide, Alpha Fort Worth Texas

Alpha is hiring.

• On-site: Alpha Schools, Scottsdale (Phoenix), AZ
• $30/hr | 10–30 hrs/week | Full-time path available at $60,000/year + benefits
• Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–4:00 PM (choose your schedule within school hours)

If redirecting a distracted 10-year-old before they pull the rest of the group off-task is the part of youth program work you're actually good at, keep reading. If "assistant" means standing back and jumping in only when things go wrong, this isn't that job.

Alpha runs a compressed K-12 learning model: structured to the minute, faster than a traditional school day, and built around a Guide who stays focused entirely on instruction. That model only holds if someone owns the operational layer — transitions on time, materials ready before the lesson starts, student engagement managed before small distractions become disruptions.

From your first week, you're in the middle of it. No warmup period. You're monitoring the room, applying Alpha-approved motivational techniques (positive reinforcement, structured prompts, real-time redirection), and prepping each activity so the Guide walks in and starts immediately. When you do your job well, a student who was drifting is back on task before the lesson breaks stride. The expectations are concrete: 95% of transitions on time, materials ready before every lesson, students engaged throughout.

The more fluent you become in Alpha's model, the more you own. Assistants who master the operational layer take on broader classroom responsibility — and for the right person, the path to becoming a Guide is direct.

What You Will Be Doing

• Supervising student transitions between activities (roughly 30% of your time): monitoring the clock, prompting students to move, and using positive reinforcement to keep movement orderly and on schedule
• Preparing classroom materials before each lesson by gathering supplies, organizing them per the activity plan, and confirming setup matches the Guide's instructions before instruction begins
• Facilitating student engagement during structured activities (roughly 40% of your time) by monitoring participation, identifying disengagement early, and redirecting students using Alpha-approved classroom management techniques without interrupting instruction

What You Won’t Be Doing

• Standing at the back of the room waiting for something to go wrong — this role requires active presence and real-time decision-making throughout the school day
• Designing lessons, writing activity plans, or being accountable for academic outcomes (the Guide's responsibility)
• Inventing your own approach to student behavior; Alpha's motivational techniques are defined and you'll apply them consistently
• Managing facility tasks, carpool logistics, or after-hours events; your scope is classroom operations during the school day

Youth Program Assistant Key Responsibilities

Keep Alpha's classroom operations running so Guides can stay focused on instruction.

Basic Requirements

• Willing to work in person at our Scottsdale campus.
• Work a minimum of 10 hours per week, with total flexibility to choose your schedule during school hours (Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM). Option for full-time position.
• Experience working with children ages 5–14 in a structured setting (school, camp, childcare, tutoring, or coaching).
• Ability to coordinate people, materials, and activities quickly and effectively.
• Kid-friendly and comfortable redirecting children using encouragement.
• Legal right to work in the U.S. without visa sponsorship.

Nice-to-have Requirements

• Hands-on group management experience with children in motion (camp counselor, classroom aide, teacher's aide, paraprofessional, youth sports coach, or after-school program staff)
• Experience in a mastery-based, competency-based, or structured learning program (Montessori, project-based learning, or similar)
• Track record of keeping groups on schedule using positive redirection rather than escalating to adult intervention

About Alpha

Join the team building school around student growth

Alpha reimagines the school day around faster learning, stronger mentorship, and more time for students to build real-world skills.

Roles with real student impact:

Alpha hires teachers (guides), operators, admissions experts, school & curriculum leaders, and remote team members.

Education work that pays like it matters:

Alpha offers six-figure roles for people ready to help build a radically better school experience.

A culture built for builders:

Alpha is fast-moving, ambitious, and student focused. It’s for people who want to improve the system, not maintain it.

Alpha is where you can do the most meaningful work of your career.

Working with us

This is a part-time (20 hours per week), long-term position. The position is immediately available and requires entering into an independent contractor agreement with Crossover as a Contractor of Record. The compensation level for this role is $30 USD/hour, which equates to $30,000 USD/year assuming 20 hours per week and 50 weeks per year. The payment period is weekly. Consult www.crossover.com/help-and-faqs for more details on this topic.

Crossover Job Code: LJ-5414-US-Phoenix-YouthProgramAs.005