Join the Wonder Dojo
Want to help shape Knowledge Commons DC’s future? Join the Wonder Dojo, the school’s group of core organizers.
Dojo members—all volunteers—set KCDC’s course, both month-to-month and in the long term. They are responsible for programs, administration and development, and volunteer management. The Dojo also serves as the nonprofit’s board, providing oversight and strategic direction.
Qualifications
We seek Dojo members who:
- Are interested in new models for education, community-building, and peer-to-peer learning.
- Can work with a group that makes major decisions by consensus.
- Will ask questions, take initiative, and help to lead.
Beyond these general qualifications, we have a need for all manner of hard and soft skills. Dojo members serve in a variety of roles, using their abilities in event organizing, managing and training volunteers, finding teachers and spaces, data analysis, communications, writing, editing, crafts, fundraising, grant writing, nonprofit business, design, software development, system administration, cooking, teaching, and generally being wonderful people. We hope that you can add to this list.
Positions
Dojo members help to steer Knowledge Commons DC as a whole, and they also serve on one or more teams, working with volunteers and other Dojo members on particular tasks.
Our teams are:
- SEAL (Scheduling, Email, Administration, and Lists): coordinates class schedules and spaces; edits class descriptions, text, and photos; and manages project timelines
- Teaching/Community: recruits and manages volunteers, helps instructors to develop their teaching skills, and strengthens student involvement
- Design and Technology: designs, develops, and runs the systems that connect teachers, students, and volunteers; does analysis and reserach to support activities; and designs new materials
- Communications: presents KCDC’s work to current participants, the broader community, and the press
- Fundraising and Business: obtains donations and funding to support KCDC’s programs, and manages business operations
- Outreach: maintains relationships with partner organizations and new teachers, working to ensure that KCDC reaches a broad range of participants
Everyone can “wrangle” new teachers, class ideas, and space partners. Most Dojo members choose to help find and develop classes, but this role is optional.
Commitments
We expect that Dojo members will:
- Make a good-faith effort to spend a year in the role.
- For the first three months of their involvement, attend at least half of our regular organizing meetings, which take place every two weeks.
- Contribute toward email discussions.
- Work with a team/committee on a more focused part of KCDC’s activities.
- Promote KCDC classes and teaching among people they know.
We know that travel and busy periods arrive in everyone’s life, and Dojo members can take short leaves from their regular commitments. These positions are unpaid.
Questions?
Get in touch with us at contact@knowledgecommonsdc.org. We would be happy to answer any questions, and we can meet with you to talk more. You are also welcome to attend organizing meetings, if you’d like to learn about the experience in-person.
Want to Apply?
We’re glad that you’re interested. Send a note to contact@knowledgecommonsdc.org – nothing formal, and a couple of paragraphs would suffice. Tell us:
- Why you’d be an excellent member of the organizing team.
- What you see as KCDC’s value to teachers and students, the community, or the broader realms of educational experiments and social practice art.
A Dojo member will meet with you. If your interest and KCDC’s needs align, we’ll invite you to three of our meetings so that you can get to know our organization. Then, the group will consider your application. We’ve found that new Dojo members are most successful when they have already volunteered or taught with KCDC for some time, but that experience is not required.