Program Coordinator

The Outdoor School

Pay: Up to $425/week with opportunities for additional weekend work for additional pay.

Room and Board: Room and most board is provided. Compensation includes on-site housing at our camp in Marble Falls Texas and meals when the program is running (about 85% of the time).

Dates: Program Coordinators will work two seasons at The Outdoor School with a break in between. PC's will start work July 22nd of this year and continue through May 18th of next year with an unpaid holiday break from November 22nd through early January.  

Location: The Outdoor School is located in the beautiful Texas Hill Country with direct waterfront access to Lake LBJ, and just 60 miles away from Austin.

What we do: At The Outdoor School students have an opportunity to engage with their natural environment in a fun and educational context, typically our students are in 5th-7th grade. We offer a variety of academic and adventure-based programming for our visiting schools including Teambuilding, Reptiles, Geology, Water Quality, Archeology, Kayaking, High Ropes Courses, Archery, Outdoor Survival, Art in Nature, and many more! 

Program Coordinator-

A team of Program Coordinators will work to plan, schedule, and facilitate outdoor education programming. Program Coordinators are vital community members, often working closely with the outdoor education instructors as well as the full-time directors. The Program Coordinators’ responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

• Acting as the on-call director of the day
• Managing and mentoring instructors
• Observing and evaluating our program
• Liaising with teachers and school staff leading up to and during their visit
• Creating a master schedule of staff and of activities
• Working outdoors with students

Program Coordinators also have the opportunity to specialize in an area of interest to support their own professional path such as social media, personnel, challenge course, curriculum, garden and farm, or another area of interest to deepen their knowledge and gain extensive hands-on experience. 

If you are looking to advance your Outdoor Education career, further develop your leadership, learn transferrable professional skills, and help build a community then this opportunity could be perfect for you!

The Outdoor School programming focuses on the philosophies of Universal Respect and Challenge by Choice. These two core philosophies are woven into all that we do. Universal Respect describes how everything and everyone should be treated with respect. To respect others, students are taught to treat others as they would like to be treated, using encouragement and positive words and actions. Students will also be expected to show respect for themselves by never underestimating their own potential or worth, and to respect the environment in the same way. Challenge by Choice centers each student's individual goals by both honoring the boundaries they've chosen and encouraging curiosity toward new challenges. Students have opportunities to determine their own goals and reach them by taking reasonable risks and navigating physical, mental and social challenges along the way.

Here's what our staff said was the best part of working at The Outdoor School:

• "I love seeing kids learn that they can do hard things and that they are supported. I also love watching them get excited about learning something new."

• "I met amazing people and grew so much as a person. I felt extremely safe here mentally and emotionally. I knew no matter what I had to say, it’d be heard. I felt extremely connected to the environment and wanted, seen, and appreciated. I loved the lake, the access to use everything in free time and being able to hang with all the animals!"

• "I loved that I got paid to look at stars and sing camp songs. It was so fun to watch kids make friends and I loved living in such a beautiful place. I loved it when I worked belaying or campfire with friends. I also really appreciate that I was able to learn so many new things and get out of my comfort zone."

• "The people, the support, the positivity! I always felt supported and nurtured while I was here :) I couldn’t ask for a better work community!"

• "The classes and the care taken in the lesson plans are really cool and well done. They really help prepare us to teach the class and understand it ourselves as well"

• "Telescopes, fishing, impacting children, witnessing the sunrise and sunset every day, opportunities for growth, learning new things."

• "Making a lasting difference in people's lives"

• "The community, love, and inclusiveness of the camp as a whole and the staff.  "

• "REPTILES! OUTDOOR SKILLS! Kids getting to play outside all day :)"

• "The community, the opportunities provided through the diverse skill set, the AMAZING time outside, the leadership staff, the customizable approach to your experience here by what classes you teach & what team you’re on"

• "People I’ve met and the opportunity to gain new skills. I never would have been able to be ropes trained and become a lifeguard anywhere else because people believed in me and gave me the chance and time to learn."

• "Getting to grow closer with the people around me, getting to learn about them, make memories with them and getting to share parts of myself with them and make what I consider to be true friends. I very much enjoyed it. Oh also being outside and experiencing nature, it’s been lovely. "