Education Assistant

The Education Assistant is responsible for assisting in coordinating and facilitating  educational programs for school and family audiences (K-12 onsite and virtual field trips, family programs and tours) and the public (events, public programs, virtual webinars, and classes). The Education Assistant helps the Education Manager and Director of Education with program administration including but not limited to coordinating event registration, marketing, processing payments, and other program logistics. The Education Assistant will serve a key role in facilitating K-12 school visits, family programs, and community engagement efforts. As a member of the educational programming staff, the Education Assistant works to support programs and events that attract a diverse range of participants of all ages, backgrounds, and interests.

The Olana Partnership (TOP) is the non-profit cooperative partner of the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation at Olana State Historic Site. TOP’s mission is to inspire the public by preserving and interpreting Frederic Church’s Olana. Comprised of a 250-acre designed landscape containing a Persian-inspired house and studio and a historic farm complex, Olana is a master work of American landscape art created over 40 years (1860-1900) by famed Hudson River School artist Frederic Church. TOP’s vision is to make Olana the most widely recognized artist’s home and studio in the world, and since our founding in 1971 we have worked closely with our New York State partners to make this vision a reality. Olana hosts more than 170,000 visitors annually and is a National Historic Landmark. TOP continuously introduces new educational programs to reflect our vision of Olana as a true teaching museum, offering diverse learning experiences like field trips, virtual webinars, workshops and classes, walking tours, family programs, and events.

Primary Duties

• Leading field trips and other programs about Frederic Church’s Olana for a wide range of audiences including but not limited to K-12 school groups, families, and adults.
• Facilitating and assisting with free programs for all audiences as part of TOP’s “Access for All” initiative and monthly free program days.
• Preparing materials and education space for field trips, assisting with field trip requests, and contributing to field trip curriculum development.
• Leading regular programs for diverse audiences included but not limited to Panorama art and nature summer youth program, Artmaking in the Afternoon, and Create & Cook.
• Frequently participating in offsite opportunities to deepen community engagement such as farmer’s markets, school visits, library visits, and other community events.

Assisting the Education Manager and Director of Education and Public Programs with:

• general program administration and logistics,
• event set up and check-in,
• program and event registration,
• outreach activities as needed (such as organizing marketing and press release materials, managing outreach lists, field trip and program mailers, organizing website content and revisions, and tracking attendee data),
• managing Education programming schedule and master calendars,
• maintaining Wagon House Education Center space and assisting with event cleanup,
• processing payments and checks,

introducing speakers and programs and assisting with phone inquiries.