High School Math Educator

Kenya
Permanent
Full-time

1 month ago

Positions Available6DescriptionCan you see yourself presenting a math lesson to a class of eager young Kenyan students, or sipping chai (tea) with a group of Kenyan colleagues as you share lesson plans in the teachers' room? Can you envision walking to the local market to buy beans, corn, and peanuts to make “nyoyo” and meeting a group of girls from the IT club you support who shout greetings to you in Kiswahili? If the answer is yes, the Peace Corps seeks applicants like you who have the passion, flexibility, and resiliency to support Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education initiatives in Kenya.Peace Corps Volunteers' work complements and supports the efforts of the Government of Kenya at the grassroots level through:

Addressing secondary school teacher shortages in math subjects
Supporting Information and Communication Technology integration in the classroom
Collaboratively promoting STEM education
Co-developing STEM teaching and learning materials
Promoting creativity, innovation, and practical application of STEM concepts in real life situations
Supporting co-curricular activities including career guidance, HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, and life skills trainings

High School Math Educator Volunteers work collaboratively with Kenyan counterparts in four focus areas:1. Building teacher capacity through formal and informal Communities of Practice
2. Increasing student skills and performance in STEM through direct classroom teaching
3. Promoting increased community involvement to support school activities
4. Co-developing materials and increasing access to materials/resources to support a STEM approach to math and scienceVolunteers teach in high schools and may also be asked to support junior high schools within their communities as an additional responsibility. Kenyan high school students range in age from 13-18 while those in junior high schools range from ages 10-13. Volunteers with interest and/or experience in special needs education may opt to be placed in secondary schools for the Deaf, in which case they would be trained to teach math using Kenyan Sign Language (KSL).As with all Peace Corps programs, flexibility and a positive attitude are important for this project. Volunteers may be asked by their Kenyan colleagues to provide instruction on a variety of subjects aside from the one they have been invited to teach. Volunteers will teach and/or co-teach in the classroom and support activities to collaboratively build capacity with their counterparts and teachers. To engage the broader community, Volunteers and their counterparts might organize math and science competitions, camps, clubs, and school enhancement projects. Along with classroom teaching, many Volunteers get involved supporting sports teams, youth conferences, school gardens, and other extracurricular activities. STEM Volunteers also work with counterparts to integrate HIV/AIDS and malaria work into their teaching and community development activities in a culturally effective and appropriate manner.Peace Corps Kenya partners with community counterparts to promote boys' and girls' education and empowerment and promote healthy social norms around education. Volunteers are trained on social norms and realities in Kenya and together with their Kenyan counterparts they have the opportunity to co-implement activities that are contextually and culturally appropriate, promoting social norms and co-facilitating empowerment programs to support both girls and boys in exploring a new paradigm together.Request Type173 Secondary Education - Math TeachingPostKenyaRequired SkillsCompetitive candidates will have one or more of the following criteria:

Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education with a concentration in math

Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any discipline with secondary certification in math

Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in Math, Engineering, or Computer Science

Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any discipline with a minor or equivalent (15 semester/22 quarter hours) in math

Start Date31-Aug-2026Desired SkillsThe most successful candidates will have one or more of the following relevant qualifications:

Prior teaching experience, preferably with secondary school students
Experience teaching large classes (50+ students)
Experience designing educational content using limited resources
Experience in using virtual resources and educational technology to teach
Experience in school and/or community presentations with children, youth or adult learners
Experience with youth development, particularly life skills development, promotion of healthy lifestyles, camps, youth clubs, scouts, etc.
Experience or interest in working with Special Needs students, especially Deaf students in secondary schools

Living ConditionsTrainees live with Kenyan host families throughout Pre-Service Training (PST). After PST, Volunteers are placed in rural communities in Western Kenya. Housing is provided by the work partner and may be a private structure in a family compound, staff housing at the school or health facility, or a stand-alone house in the community. Structures vary from mud houses with metal roofs to concrete houses with glass windows, but all have facilities for cooking, bathing, and either indoor toilets or outdoor latrine outhouses. Volunteers may have to fetch and carry water from a local water source up to 100 meters from their home and may not have reliable access to electricity.Volunteers in Kenya live within three kilometers of their work sites and are placed no more than five hours by public transportation from the regional capital, Kisumu, where the Peace Corps office is located. Volunteers ride matatus (minivans) as a main mode of public transportation to and from the nearest county capital to access banks, a variety of shops, markets, restaurants, and guesthouses. Peace Corps Kenya provides an allowance for Volunteers who wish to purchase a bicycle.Cell phone coverage is not consistent in all communities, and text messaging may be more reliable. The Peace Corps will issue a Kenyan SIM card, and certain staff will be on call 24/7. Internet is available through cellphone service providers, and Volunteers are advised to bring a laptop to complete assignments such as monitoring, evaluating, and reporting activities.Kenyans regard attention to dress and appearance as demonstrating respect, and Volunteers must take care to dress in a culturally appropriate manner 24/7. In training and on the job, Volunteers are expected to dress in modest, comfortable, business casual clothing. Hair should be clean and neat, with beards and mustaches neatly trimmed. Long hair and ear piercings on men and tattoos and piercings beyond the earlobe on any Volunteer may have a cultural stigma and could impede a Volunteer from building trust with and integrating into their host community. Volunteers with visible facial or body piercings or tattoos will need strategies to conceal them during the process of integration into their communities.Food availability and variety will vary by community within Kenya. The staple food is ugali, which is made from maize meal and is eaten with cooked vegetables, fish, meat, beans, or chicken, typically with the right hand. Vegetarians and vegans can maintain a healthy diet, but vegetarianism is relatively uncommon and many prepared foods are made with animal products.Peace Corps Kenya welcomes Volunteers from various backgrounds in the U.S., and staff and currently-serving Volunteers are committed to supporting them through challenges. Because Kenya has some restrictive laws against certain sexual acts, LGB Volunteers in particular must be mindful of cultural norms and country-specific laws and use their best judgment in their communities and host countries. Staff and currently-serving Volunteers will address this topic during PST and identify support mechanisms for incoming Trainees.Language RequirementNoneLanguage Skills Additional InformationKenya has two official languages: Kiswahili and English. English is the language of instruction in Kenyan schools. Kenyan Sign Language (KSL) is the third National Language and is the language of instruction in schools for the Deaf. There are over 40 other local languages and dialects, with Luo and Luhya languages spoken predominantly in the Western region where Peace Corps Kenya is based. Volunteers speak English in the classroom, but not all Kenyans speak English in their daily lives, so Volunteers' community integration is greatly enhanced by the ability to hold conversations in Kiswahili or another of the local Kenyan languages spoken in the community.During the 10 weeks of Pre-Service Training (PST), Peace Corps Trainees undergo a comprehensive language immersion program. High School Math Educator Trainees may learn Kiswahili or Kenyan Sign Language as their primary language. Trainees are tested twice during PST and at the end of 10 weeks they are required to reach the Intermediate-Mid level of Kiswahili or the Intermediate-High level of KSL. Once they have moved to their permanent host communities, Volunteers continue their language learning with a trained tutor identified and funded by Peace Corps Kenya. Volunteers who reach a high level of fluency may transition to a more specific local language used in their host community.Primary SectorEducationAccepts CouplesYesCouples CommentsPeace Corps Kenya welcomes couples serving together during service. For any couple to be considered, both partners must qualify for and be invited to any of the following projects:

Community Health Facilitator
High School Math Educator
High School Science Educator
Educator for the Deaf

Volunteers in the Health and Education sectors undergo different technical training programs, and during Pre-Service Training (PST) they live in different training villages around the main training site. Couples who serve in different sectors should note that they may not be living in the same home or village during the 10 weeks of PST, and that their additional compulsory trainings such as In-Service Training may be held at different times. Couples who serve in the same sector will live with the same host family during PST. After PST, all couples will live together in their host communities while working at different host organizations.Because Kenyans tend to expect that whenever a man and woman live together they are by default married, unmarried couples should be prepared to present themselves as married throughout their service.Due to the country's restrictive laws, same-sex couples cannot serve in Kenya at this time. The Peace Corps works to foster safe and productive assignments for same-sex couples and same-sex couples are not placed in countries, like Kenya, where homosexual acts are criminalized. Because of this, same-sex couples' placements are more limited than heterosexual couples' placements. During the application process, Recruiters and Placement Officers work closely with same-sex couple applicants to understand current placement opportunities.Apply By01-Jan-2026Know By01-Mar-2026Language Requirements InformationThere are no pre-requisite language requirements for this position.Total Number of Positions Available6Assignment Length (months)24Accepting Applications?YesProgramPCVTEFL certificate programNoPost to LinkedIn?No

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