Scholarships and Opportunities

Note: These scholarships and opportunities are not provided by the Acton Institute.

Humane Studies Fellowships are awarded to graduate students and outstanding undergraduates planning academic careers and engaged in liberty-advancing research. The fellowships support students in variety of fields, such as economics, philosophy, law, political science, history, and sociology.

Awards range from $2,000 to $15,000 and fellowship winners may re-apply for each year of their studies. In 2010, the Institute for Humane Studies awarded more than $650,000 to 180 students.

The program is open to full-time graduate students, including law and MBA students, and undergraduate juniors and seniors with a demonstrated intent to pursue an academic career.

Deadline is December 31, 2011. For more information and to apply, pleae click here.

Employment Opportunities

Acton Academy
1106 West Avenue, Austin, TX 78701
Web: ActonAcademy.org
Contact: ActonAcademySearch@gmail.com

Position: Teacher and Head of School

Educational Philosophy

The staff at Acton Academy believes that clear thinking leads to good decisions, that good decisions lead to the right habits, that the right habits lead to character and that character becomes destiny.

Summary

The Acton Academy mission is to inspire each child and parent who enters its doors to find a calling that will change the world. Acton Academy is currently accepting applications for a Teacher/Head of School to start in the spring of 2011 to manage the launch of a middle school to open during the summer of 2012. The ideal candidate will: be passionate about educating young people and seeing them discover their fullest potential; possess strong leadership skills; and, have the drive to execute a plan to successfully launch a school on deadline.

The Head of School will work collaboratively with and report to the founders of Acton Academy to create a dynamic learning environment; will be responsible for identifying and ensuring the use of exemplary academic and instructional applications within the classroom; will be a passionate advocate of education reform; and have experience either as a student or teacher in a student-centered and project-based learning environment.

Job Summary

Acton Academy is seeking applications for a Teacher/Head of School to manage the start-up for a new middle school (6th – 8th grades). The Teacher/Head of School will be responsible for all start-up activities, including curriculum design, developing experiential learning exercises, hiring teachers, managing the student recruitment process, and evaluating student learning and success. Once the school launches, the Teacher/Head of School will be responsible for classroom execution and improvement.

This is a unique opportunity to help develop an exciting new schooling model that creates alternative teaching and learning options by leveraging the latest technologies and embracing a cutting-edge approach to education.

Responsibilities

Creating and leading engaging Socratic and Great Books discussions to encourage critical thinking and self-mastery
Creating a classroom culture that fosters creativity, intellectual curiosity and mutual respect
Training and developing the teaching staff in order to successfully implement the curriculum in collaboration with the founders of Acton Academy
Building a curriculum using the latest in educational gaming to deliver reading, writing, and math skills tailored to individual learning styles
Developing cutting-edge project learning and apprenticeship-training projects
Testing extensively to determine skill levels, learning styles, aptitudes and to track individual progress
Working well with administrators, teachers, students, and parents
Hiring, managing, and evaluating instructional staff
Managing the academic calendar
Marketing, student recruitment, and public relations activities
Managing the classroom: including students and teachers
Building a teaching team as well as a creative learning environment
Developing assessments and implementing extensive testing of skill levels, learning styles, and aptitudes to guide learning and monitor academic progress
Keeping abreast of new instructional materials and products, and evaluate these materials in terms of their effectiveness as instructional resources for the educational program
Establishing mechanisms for communication related to curriculum and educational standards for staff, students, and families

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree; master’s degree preferred
A passion for classroom teaching
Experience in creating and leading engaging Socratic and Great Books discussions to encourage critical thinking and self-mastery
Three years of successful K-12 teaching experience, preferably in a non-traditional, student-focused learning environment
Background in curricular design and game-based software programs is highly desirable
Familiarity with cutting-edge project learning and apprenticeship-training projects
Possess a background in tracking and testing methodology
Understanding of how to arrange and manage the academic calendar to reach learning goals
Technologically proficient
Proven communication, organizational, and team-building skills
Capable of effectively leading and managing staff and working with parents
Evidence of having motivated others toward a larger vision

Acton Academy offers a competitive pay package. Hours will be flexible in the start-up phase of the project; once the school launches, the school day runs from 8:00 am - 3:15pm.

How to apply

Interested parties should submit a resume, cover letter detailing his/her interest in the mission of Acton Academy, and salary history/requirements to ActonAcademySearch @gmail .com.

About Acton Academy

Jeff and Laura Sandefer started Acton Academy to provide a student-centered, vibrant learning environment for their own children—and the children of other families in their community. Now in its second year, the Academy serves children in 1st through 5th grades, with dramatic educational results.

Founded in 2009, Acton Academy is located in the heart of central Austin. The Academy, a new form of elementary school, provides an innovative project-based learning environment.

Acton Academy uses a combination of Montessori Method practices and Socratic teaching, along with project-based learning. The Academy is focused on creating a vibrant environment where family engagement contributes to lifelong learning and student success.

Acton Academy aims to teach the value of liberty and justice as the ideals for the human experience, including freedom of speech and religion and the value of free markets to help bring about the opportunity for prosperity.

Fellowship Opportunities

The Claremont Institute
The Publius Fellowships are awarded to highly qualified college seniors, recent college graduates, and graduate students pursuing careers in politics, scholarship, or journalism. A stipend, travel expenses, and housing are included in the fellowship.

Every summer since 1979, the Claremont Institute has brought together a select group of young conservatives for the Publius Fellowship. These Publius Fellows meet with the Institute's Senior Fellows and other distinguished visiting scholars to study American politics and political thought. In intensive daily seminars and relaxed evening symposia, fellows discuss great American readings—from the Founding, the Civil War, the Progressive Era, and the enduring disputes today between liberalism and conservatism. Fellows also work with the editors and writers of the Claremont Review of Books to hone the craft of political writing.

The Publius program takes its name from The Federalist Papers. Written in 1787-88 as a series of newspaper essays, The Federalist Papers remain the preeminent work of American political journalism. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay published the papers under the pen name "Publius," a founder of the Roman republic. The Federalist addressed the crucial political question of their day, the ratification of the Constitution and the founding of the American republic. Publius drew on both political philosophy and the experience of statesmen to commend the Constitution as the basis of free and just government.

The Publius Program will be held June 24- July 9, 2011. For more information and to apply, please click here.

Internships

Journalism
IHS Journalism Internships provide a stipend, housing allowance, and travel allowance. Placements are available for spring, summer and fall. The deadline for spring placement is December 1, the deadline for early decision for the summer is November 1. For more information, please visit www.theihs.org/journalism

Newspaper & Print track: Interns are placed at daily newspapers across the country and participate in an opening career building workshop. The internship offers real reporting assignments -- interns this summer averaged 30 clips.
Broadcast Journalism track: Broadcast Journalism internships offer hands-on internships at major media networks or news production houses. Last year we sponsored internships at CNN in Atlanta, ABC's "20/20" in Manhattan, and Fox News in Los Angeles, among others.

Public Policy and Nonprofit Leadership
The Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow Program offers internships for students and recent graduates interested in public policy. All placements offer participation in the Washington DC opening and closing workshops, a $1,500 stipend, travel reimbursement, and housing (or a housing allowance). DC based interns will attend weekly lectures, panels, and small group discussions on current policy topics. Application Deadline: January 31, 2009.

State-based Policy -- Placements available at policy organizations in over 20 states. www.TheIHS.org/statepolicy
Public Policy -- Interns will spend the summer working at think tanks and nonprofit organizations around the Washington, DC area. www.TheIHS.org/policy

Seminars

Foundation for Economic Education
Since 1946, the Foundation for Economic Education has never wavered from its vital mission: to foster liberty and prosperity for everyone by changing the climate of ideas-one mind at a time. The Foundation carries out this mission by continually deepening the understanding of a free society and by passing this knowledge on to individuals everywhere. This year marks the 47th consecutive year of summer seminars at FEE. We invite you to be a part of FEE's mission and to aid in the cause of individual liberty around the world. We offer seminars for both high school and college students. www.fee.org/seminars