Outdoor Education Instructor

The Outdoor School

 

*Now hiring outdoor educators for the fall season- August 19th through November 22nd*

Pay: Up to $375/week for new instructors with opportunities for additional weekend work at $15-17 per hour. 

Room and Board: Room and most board is provided. Compensation includes on-site housing at our camp in Marble Falls Texas and meals when program is running (about 85% of the time). No in-cabin nights are required.

Dates: Our Fall season is August 19th through November 22nd. This is a seasonal position, and exact dates vary from year to year. Generally, the fall season runs from mid-August through mid-November and the spring season runs from early February through late May. Optional Red Cross Lifeguard Training class offered August 12th-16th. 

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 awesome food and live music in Austin.

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At The Outdoor School in Marble Falls, Texas we host residential outdoor education field trips for groups of students that come from all different types of schools all over Texas and beyond. Our mission is; we strive to use the outdoors to awaken ourselves and others to the potential within and around us. 

At The Outdoor School (TOS) students are able to experience their natural environment in a fun and educational setting. We offer a variety of programming for visiting schools to choose from, typically working with 5th - 7th-grade students but middle and highschool groups attend our program too.

Instructors teach from a pre-approved academic and adventure curriculum including Team building, Reptiles, Water Quality, Kayaking, High Ropes Courses, Archery, Outdoor Survival, Art in Nature, and many more! Working at The Outdoor School means you will receive housing, meals during the program, and up to $375/wk for new instructors. 

There are also several opportunities for professional growth at TOS! Instructors participate in a 3-week paid training period that provides challenge course training, team building facilitation skills, Red Cross First Aid/CPR certification, Red Cross Lifeguard Certification (optional), and the foundation for great friendships! If you happen to have some prior experience in these areas that may be helpful here too. 

To qualify for this role, applicants must:

• Be at least 18 years of age on of before the season start date
• Have some type of educative experience beyond high school equivalency (be that a college degree, partial degree, alternative education, or further life experience)
• Commit to working the duration of the season with little to no conflict
• Separate themselves from technology during working hours
• Understand that as a program for children, we are a drug free workplace.
• Abstain from drinking alcohol the day before they are working.
• Successfully fulfill the physical aspects of this role with or without reasonable accommodation, including working long days in the outdoors, in the heat, or in the cold supervising groups of youth and facilitating a variety of activities that may require the staff member to lift, pull, walk, hike, climb, bend, sing, sit, and/or stand.

Other skills and qualifications that are helpful but not required:

• Prior experience, formal or informal, working with elementary aged children
• Summer camp or other seasonal work experience
• Previous team dynamics involving cohabitation with coworkers
• Archery, belaying, challenge course, or ropes course experience
• Lifeguard certification (can be acquired at the job at no cost)
• First aid/cpr certification (can be acquired at the job at no cost)

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

• "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."

• "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!"

• "The community we built, the relationships we created with the students, and pushing myself out of my comfort zone."

• "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. "

• "COMMUNITY. EXPERIENCE. GROWTH. LEARNING. DEVELOPMENT."

• "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."

• "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"

• "The diversity of students and staff!"

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

• "I loved doing ropes. I feel so active and strong. Especially being a pirate ! I also just had so much fun exploring Texas more this season. Going to Dallas, Houston, and a lot more naturey areas !"

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

• "I have never worked at a place where there is so much support from coworkers and leadership. It took some getting used to but it is nice to know that if you needed to ask a question or get a class covered there were people willing to help you."

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

• "The people, I've made some life long friends here in a way this placed helped me heal somethings I didn't realize was broken. The campus, this place is beautiful! The sunsets from upper casa porch?! Being able to kayak whenever?! Lastly, being in a place where I'm encouraged to grow in a positive way. Not talked down to but uplifted to discover new part of myself, others and the world around me"

• "working with kids. the warm weather. the sunsets. the people I've met."

• "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"

• "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."