Maya Angelou Public Charter School (MAPCS) and See Forever Foundation (SFF) want you! Join a team of committed staff and volunteers working to help urban teens develop the academic, social, and employment skills they need to build rewarding lives and promote positive change in their communities.

What can I expect from my summer experience?
MAPCS/ SFF summer interns will spend six weeks working with MAPCS staff to create a fun, engaging and exciting summer learning environment for our students. Interns will work one-on-one with students on intensive literacy and math instruction, and will have the opportunity to work closely with teachers and administrative staff in the day-to-day operations of the school. They will also work on other skills and may participate in field trips.

What are we looking for in our Interns?
MAPCS/SFF interns must have a passion for making a difference in the lives of DC teens. The ideal candidate will have experience in education and in working with inner city teens. While coursework in education is a plus, it is not required. Above all, interns must be committed to giving our students the best possible summer experience and to being open to seeing the DC that tourists miss.

Want to know what past interns have said about the program?
Please read below a letter from 2003 intern and Teach For America teacher on the Mississippi Delta, Amy Charpentier:

I wanted to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to spend the summer at your school. I know I've neglected writing this letter for too long. But in all truth, the emotions I felt returning to the Mississippi Delta were overwhelming and at the same time frightening. So many times I have wanted to say thank you and express my feelings for what you and other staff/ faculty/ volunteers have created at Maya Angelou but I was struggling the emotions of returning to a school district where expectations are low and accountability even lower. Many times I have wished that I could be back to steal just a little piece of your enthusiasm and dedication for my own school.

I know I mentioned that my goal for the summer was to learn more about how effective alternative schools operate. I thought that spending time at MAPCS I would discover a panacea for the challenges my own school faces. What I really learned was that it just takes a lot of time, a lot of hard work, and a lot of sweat to accomplish what MAPCS has. Your teachers, your staff, and your volunteers are a more committed group than I have ever seen. Sure, things aren't always perfect but the character, the love, and the dedication for the school is evident.

I think the hardest part in returning to my own school was the very visible difference in the level of commitment to and relationships with our students. I vividly imagine the opportunities my students would have if they could only enroll in your school (and dream of begging their parents to move them to DC). I have too many 17 and 18 year old seventh graders this year who at best will make it to the tenth grade before the school district kicks them out for being too old. Despite this, I try to model the practices that I saw exhibited this summer that have helped your students succeed. In spite of the difficulties, I know that the only choice is to keep trying even when it seems impossible. Even if the alternative educators in my state readily admit that they don't think our students can make it or even succeed in life (as they did at the Arkansas Association of Alternative Educators Conference), I know that somewhere out there individuals are championing our students' cause.

If I have not made it evident, I truly appreciate the opportunity to spend the summer at your school observing what is in my mind one of the most effective public alternative schools. I really believe that what you all are doing is permanently and positively helping to change many lives. I know this e-mail sounds effusive but I mean every word I've said because I've seen what the opposite looks like.

Thank you again and I hope the Maya Angelou family is doing well.

Amy