Outdoor Learning Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

POTENTIAL INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR INSTRUCTIONAL ASSIGNMENTS

Program: Gardening Instructor Opportunities

Location: On-site at partner schools; varies by assignment

Teaching Mode: In Person

Grade Levels: Elementary, Middle, and High School; varies by assignment

Schedule: Typically 1–4 instructional service hours per week after school

Program Length: Commonly approximately 10 weeks per assignment

Start Dates: Opportunities become available throughout the school year

Compensation: Typical compensation of $50+ per completed instructional service hour, depending on assignment scope, experience, location, schedule, and agreed compensation

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

Concorde Education is seeking independent instructional contractors to provide gardening and environmental enrichment services for K–12 students.

This is a potential independent contractor assignment, not an employee position. Contractors may choose whether to apply for, accept, decline, or ignore available opportunities.

Assignments vary by school, grade level, schedule, available indoor or outdoor space, growing season, curriculum, materials, and program objectives.

Concorde may provide curriculum guidance, lesson-plan suggestions, project ideas, instructional resources, or program objectives. Contractors may use their professional judgment to adapt instruction within the assignment scope and applicable site requirements.

ASSIGNMENT SCOPE

Depending on the accepted assignment, contractors may:

• Plan and facilitate engaging, age-appropriate gardening sessions;

• Introduce students to gardening, plant science, sustainability, and environmental stewardship through hands-on learning activities;

• Adapt instruction based on student experience levels, site requirements, available space, seasonal conditions, materials, and program objectives;

• Support students in planting, maintaining, observing, and harvesting gardens, container gardens, or other horticultural projects, where applicable;

• Maintain a safe, respectful, inclusive, and age-appropriate learning environment;

• Communicate assignment-related needs or significant concerns with Concorde and school staff, as appropriate;

• Complete a brief session completion form after each scheduled session; and

• Follow applicable site safety, visitor, classroom, outdoor, emergency, tool-use, and student-protection procedures.

EXAMPLE PROGRAM TOPICS

Assignments may include topics such as:

• Plant life cycles, growth requirements, and basic botany;

• Soil composition, composting, nutrients, and healthy growing conditions;

• Seed starting, germination, transplanting, and plant care;

• Water conservation, irrigation, and sustainable gardening practices;

• Pollinators, biodiversity, ecosystems, and environmental stewardship;

• Garden planning, container gardening, companion planting, and seasonal gardening techniques;

• Herbs, vegetables, flowers, native plants, and food systems education; and

• Observation, garden journaling, scientific inquiry, responsibility, and teamwork.

Specific curriculum, growing environments, seasonal activities, available materials, and project requirements vary by assignment.

QUALIFICATIONS

Preferred qualifications include:

• At least 60 college credits, where required by the applicable assignment or site;

• Experience with gardening, horticulture, agriculture, environmental education, botany, landscaping, or related disciplines;

• Experience teaching, tutoring, coaching, mentoring, or leading activities with school-age students;

• Strong communication, organization, and classroom facilitation skills;

• Availability to provide services for the accepted assignment schedule and communicate schedule issues as soon as reasonably practicable; and

• Ability to safely lead hands-on outdoor or classroom-based gardening activities while fostering curiosity, responsibility, and environmental awareness.

Preferred backgrounds may include gardeners, horticulturists, environmental educators, master gardeners, farmers, biology teachers, science educators, landscape professionals, college students studying environmental science or horticulture, and others with relevant instructional or practical experience.

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

Assignments may utilize school-provided garden beds, containers, hand tools, soil, seeds, plants, curriculum resources, lesson plans, outdoor learning spaces, and other instructional materials, where available.

Contractors may use their own instructional methods and materials when appropriate, safe, age-appropriate, lawful, and consistent with the assignment scope and site requirements.

Purchases requiring reimbursement must be approved in writing by Concorde before they are incurred.

COMPENSATION

Compensation varies by assignment and agreed contractor terms. Many opportunities pay $50+ per completed instructional service hour with students.

Contractors may propose their desired compensation rate when applying. When proposing a rate, contractors should consider the overall assignment scope, including anticipated preparation, planning, commute, materials, schedule, and other business considerations.

Concorde may accept the proposed rate, decline the application, or provide a counteroffer based on the budget for the specific assignment.

Unless otherwise approved in writing, compensation is based on completed instructional service hours with students.

Payment for completed services is generally made by direct deposit on the fifteenth day of the month following the month in which services were completed, unless otherwise stated in the accepted assignment terms or required by applicable law.

APPLICATION AND ONBOARDING

Applicants selected to move forward may be invited to create a contractor profile and complete any required onboarding steps.

Applying, interviewing, receiving an invitation to create a profile, creating a profile, or completing onboarding does not guarantee selection, placement, or future assignment opportunities.

Potential assignments are subject to assignment fit, agreed compensation, completion of required onboarding, applicable background-check review, Fair Chance or pre-adverse action procedures where required, site-specific clearance requirements, and final written confirmation from Concorde Education.

Some assignments may require background-check authorization, fingerprinting, agency clearance, site-specific documentation, identification badges, or other compliance steps before services may begin.

Applicants should not provide criminal-history information unless and until requested through the appropriate legally compliant process.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Concorde Education considers contractor applicants without regard to any status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law and is committed to respectful, inclusive, and student-centered programming.