Nashville, TN ยท Always Growing
We are always looking
for great people.
You did not sign up to fill out paperwork, manage behavior charts, and watch kids fall through the cracks. You signed up to change lives. At Illuminate Academy, that is the whole job.
We are currently seeking Support Instructors and 1:1 Support Staff to work directly with our learners.
We are always looking. You never know when the right role opens up.
4-Day Work Week
Mon to Thu, 8am to 3pm
5.5 Weeks Paid Vacation
10-Month Position
Open Roles
Two roles we are
always looking to fill.
We do not always have a formal posting up. But we are always looking for the right people. If either of these sounds like you, send us your info โ we will make it work.
Always Looking
Support Instructor
No teaching certificate required. Just a genuine love for kids, a team-first attitude, and the kind of attentiveness that notices the small moments โ because here, the small moments are everything.
Who You Are
Someone who loves being around kids and wants to make a real difference โ no special ed degree required
You notice when a learner is struggling before they say a word
You are ready to be coached and you want to grow professionally
You thrive in a team environment and show up fully every day
What You Will Do
Support your Primary Instructor in delivering lessons and keeping every learner engaged
Know where each learner is โ emotionally, sensory-wise, relationally โ and meet them there
Be an active, present, on-the-floor teammate. Not a bystander
Document meaningful moments and support family communication through ClassDojo
Compensation
$28,000 to $30,000 per year / $2,800 to $3,000 per month / 10-month position, August through May.
Mon to Thu, 8am to 3pm. 5.5 weeks of paid vacation. Every year.
Always Looking
1:1 Support Staff
You work directly one-on-one with a learner. Your whole job is to know that one person deeply โ their needs, their rhythm, their wins โ and show up as their steadiest presence every single day.
Who You Are
Patient, regulated, and deeply attuned to the needs of individual learners
You do not take hard moments personally โ you get curious about them instead
You are consistent. Your learner will count on you and you show up ready every day
Experience with neurodivergent individuals is a plus but not required โ we train for skill
What You Will Do
Work directly one-on-one with an assigned learner throughout the full learning day
Implement support strategies guided by our clinical leadership team
Track data and document progress as part of the learner's full support plan
Be a calm, consistent, and trusted presence โ this is relational work at its core
Compensation
$25,000 to $26,000 per year / $2,500 to $2,600 per month / 10-month position, August through May.
Mon to Thu, 8am to 3pm. 5.5 weeks of paid vacation. Every year.
Why IA Is Different
We did not inherit
a broken system.
Monday through Thursday, 8am to 3pm. 5.5 weeks of paid vacation. Every year. We built something new โ a neuroaffirming learning environment where every decision is made around one belief: every learner arrives whole. Your job is not to fix them. It is to create the conditions where they can grow.
A framework for every moment
The House of Growth gives your whole team a shared language. You will never be guessing what to do in a hard moment. You will have a protocol and a team behind you.
Real coaching. Not a review.
You will be coached by clinical experts and interventionist specialists who work alongside you in the building. Mentorship that happens in the room, in real time.
Small ratios. Real relationships.
1:3 to 1:5. You will actually know your learners โ their stories, their triggers, their wins. That is not an accident. It is the design.
A schedule that gives you your life back
Mon to Thu, 8am to 3pm. Monthly PD Fridays. Quarterly learner development meetings. 5.5 weeks of paid vacation. Built to keep you.
Room to rise
Support Instructors grow into Primary Instructors. Primary Instructors grow into Team Leads. We see you and we build a path for people who are committed.
A culture that celebrates you
We have a Magical Moments thread. We celebrate on a Wednesday, in the hallway, in a text at 3:04pm. You will not wonder if your work is noticed. You will know.
Is This You?
People who thrive
at Illuminate Academy
Burned-out teachers who still believe in the work
Former teachers looking for a reason to come back
Childcare professionals ready to grow professionally
Behavioral therapists who want a school-based setting
Education majors looking for the best first placement
Mission-driven people who love helping children
People who want to be coached, grown, and celebrated
Anyone who believes connection is the curriculum
Our Values
We know how to build a house.
These five values make it a home.
Hope-Filled ยท Others-Centered ยท Undeterred ยท Steady ยท Ever-Growing
H
Hope-Filled
Strategic hope.
Hope isn't something we hand people โ it's something we build with them. It comes with a plan, an order, and a next step they can actually take on Tuesday.
O
Others-Centered
We start where they are.
The person in front of us is the center. Not the schedule, not the system. When something is convenient for us and harder for them, we already know the answer.
U
Undeterred
We don't quit.
Every win is a win. Every miss is a reroute. A reroute isn't failure โ it's the plan doing exactly what it's supposed to do. What we don't do is walk away.
S
Steady
Grounded in principles, not moods.
Our learners get the same us on Thursday afternoon that they got Monday morning. Our response comes from what we believe, not from how we're feeling. Steady is a practice.
E
Ever-Growing
We don't settle.
Twelve years in and we still change something every year because good is not where we stop. Nobody here gets to coast on what they already know.
How to Reach Us
Think you might be
our kind of person?
We keep it simple. Send us an email โ no lengthy forms, no formal application portal. Just tell us who you are, what draws you to IA, and answer three questions. We read every single one.
1
Email admin@illuminateacademy.org with the subject line: I'd Love to Join the IA Team
2
Include a short cover letter โ tell us who you are, which role interests you, and what brought you here.
3
Answer the three questions below in your email. They are short, real, and tell us more than a resume ever could.
4
We will be in touch. When the right spot opens up โ or right now if timing works โ you will hear from us.
The Three Questions โ Answer These in Your Email
1
What is your morning drink order? (Coffee, tea, green juice โ no wrong answers.)2
Tell us about a time a kid made you laugh unexpectedly โ the more specific the better.3
What is your favorite kind of taco?No deadline. No urgency. Just the right people finding the right place.
One more thing. We celebrate. A lot.
Like, probably more than you are used to. We literally have a thread called Magical Moments where the whole team celebrates all the things. We do not wait for an end-of-year review. We do it on a Wednesday. In the hallway. In a text at 3:04pm. It is going to feel weird at first. Then you are going to love it.
Illuminate Academy
