The aim of the Indigenous Tutoring & Mentoring Program is to provide free educational tutoring and resources to Indigenous students to help increase graduation rates and pursuit of post secondary education.  By providing free tutoring to Indigenous students both on and off reserve, as well as mentoring tailored to the needs of the student, we hope to close this gap in education and aid in increasing Indigenous representation across the various workforces and specialties.

By volunteering as either a tutor/mentor or in one of our administrative roles (see detailed opportunity profile), you will contribute meaningfully to reconciliation, make impactful connections, and receive training from SFU faculty (and get recognized on your SFU co-curricular record!)

This program is not usually offered during July-August. If you would like to get involved with the program during a specific semester, we recommend submitting your application in the semester before.

Role Descriptions and General Responsibilities
Below you will find descriptions for open positions, outlining their various tasks and responsibilities. Some roles may be more vague or general due to the inherent self-direction
and opportunities for creativity within the role. All roles have a minimum commitment of 2 semesters.

Tutor/Mentor: Tutors are required to complete a Canvas tutor-training module, attend an in-person Indigenous Cultural Safety Workshop, and complete a Criminal Record Check. After training, we’ll carefully match you with students whose grades and subjects you can easily handle, and you can then flexibly meet with each student 1-2 hours per week (online), at
whatever time works best for you and your student(s). You’re also welcome to take on as many/few students as you like: even if you only have time to pair with one student, those 1-2
hours that you spend with them each week can make a big difference.

Blog Writers: Blog writers create content and edit posts for the ITMP blog, which acts as a place to share resources, share positivity, and provide updates about ITMP workshops and program changes. The blog team is led by a Blog Coordinator (position filled), and writers peer edit each other's posts. Topics may include events relevant to our students, information about student scholarships or resources, and commemorating important days like Indigenous Peoples’ day. Writers may also choose to create content based on their interests/passions and identities, such as personal stories (ex: experiences being Indigenous, attending cultural events), language learning, favourite Indigenous authors, artists and musicians, etc. Individuals may write more or fewer posts depending on their weekly time commitment, but are expected to attend regular meetings.

Data Administrators: The data administrator is a unique role as it can be split up into individual tasks and divided between councilors if needed. The goal of the administrator is to streamline communication between parents, tutors and the admin team while making it easier to onboard students and pair them with tutors. Specific responsibilities include: transferring email contacts to google contacts and attaching them to the appropriate distribution list; creating and maintaining a database of tutors, including how many kids they can tutor and what subjects they cover; requesting and uploading permission forms and criminal record checks. The Data Administrator will work with the Vice-Chief IT and Information Security to ensure contact information and files are stored securely.

Social Media Coordinator: The social media coordinator creates content for the ITMP Facebook and Instagram, collaborating with the blog coordinator to link or cross-post blog posts to social media or vice versa. Content may vary based on the coordinator’s interests, but past examples include “word of the week” posts in different Indigenous languages, promotions of events and workshops, commemorating important days (ex: Indigenous Peoples Day), and sharing useful resources.

Workshop Coordinator(s): Workshop coordinators are responsible for organizing the time, finding a speaker, collaborating with other ITMP admins to brainstorm future workshops, organize tickets and advertise the event. There are two branches of workshops we hope to run moving forwards: Workshops aimed at tutors, and workshops aimed at students. Workshops for tutors are designed as professional development, such as strategies for teaching students with learning disabilities or how to address disclosures. On the other hand, workshops for students are designed to facilitate connection with culture or resources. Examples include: beading lessons, language lessons, and info sessions on grade 12 to university resources.

Resource Coordinator: The goal of the resource coordinator is to compile various resources for both the tutors and students. This is a more self-directed role as resources are collected as needed, however previously identified projects that can be taken forwards are: scholarship lists, dropboxes for tutoring worksheets and resources, university grants for Indigenous students, and updates on progress made towards the TRC’s 94 calls to action.

Web & IT coordinator: This role assists the Web & IT team lead with all technical aspects of our program, with the opportunity to take over from the current Web & IT lead after a semester-long training period.This role includes setting up accounts (ex: Discord), privacy and password policies, resolving technical issues as needed, and providing guidance on the security/privacy aspect of topics like workshop recordings, onboarding processes, etc. This role also organizes a unified vision for website and blog, helping members collaborate with each other. It is crucial to keep student’s autonomy over their information and privacy in mind in this role, and build in checks and balances to ensure students and/or their guardians are empowered to make informed choices about how their information is shared, stored, and used.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

Contact: Kevin Lam, Senior Lecturer (klamf@sfu.ca)