What do Corps members do?
Jumpstart Basics
College Students who join Jumpstart are called Corps members and they work one-to-one with a partner child for the entire academic year. Working one-to-one allows Corps members to focus on improving the skills of children that are necessary for future success. Corps members work on teams of their peers of about 3-8 people and are supported by a Team Leader.
There are five main components of Jumpstart: Training, Session, Classroom Assistance Time, Team Planning Meetings, and Family Involvement/Special Events.
- Training: Corps members participate in training in order to learn best practices to use in the classroom. Corps members engage in about 4 weeks of pre-service training before the start of sessions, as well as ongoing training designed to meet Corps member and community needs.
Learn More about Jumpstart's approach to early childhood education - Session: Sessions occur twice a week for 2 hours per session (4 hours a week). During each session, the Jumpstart team works with the children in the class with a focus on partner children. Sessions are facilitated by the team leader and include the elements of Circle Time, Choice Time, Small Group Activity, and One-to-One reading.
- Classroom Assistance Time (CAT): Each Corps member does Classroom Assistance Time for 2-4 hours per week. Corps members schedule this time themselves and try to work in the same classroom as their partner children to observe, provide individual support, and assist with classroom activities.
- Team Planning Meetings: These are held twice a week for 1 hour per meeting (2 hours total). Teams schedule these meetings themselves and they are used for reflection, planning, training, and team bonding.
- Personal Prep Time: This is time Corps members use to practice book reading, creating materials that will be used in the class and and studying
- Family Involvement/Special Events: These are dictated by the interests of the Jumpstart Corps members and the community. Some examples of events are Family Involvement meetings, Jumpstart Field Day, Team Bonding events, and the End of the Year Celebration.
Time Commitment
Jumpstart Corps member commit to complete 300 hours for the entire school year. Session times remain the same throughout the year. CAT time is scheduled by individual Corps members, but teams may try to do CAT together. Team Planning Meetings are scheduled by teams every quarter. Corps members complete between 8-12 hours a week. A typical week in the Autumn Quarter might look like this:
| Jumpstart Corps Member Sample Week | |||||
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Total |
| CAT: 1:30-2:30 |
CAT: 1:30-2:30 |
2 hours | |||
| Session: 2:30-4:30 | Session: 2:30-4:30 | 4 hours | |||
| Team Planning 4:30-5:30 | Team Planning 4:30-5:30 | 2 hours | |||
| Personal Prep Time: 6-7pm |
Personal Prep Time: 6-7pm |
2 hours | |||
| 10 hours | |||||
Questions? View the FAQ or Contact Us
300 Hours
Most Undergraduates will complete 300 hours over the course of the year. Students who earn Work Study and Volunteers are eligible to receive a $1,000 scholarship on completion of 300 hours of service.
