Summer Academy at Vanderbilt for the Young (SAVY) is a program within Programs for Talented Youth (PTY), a unit housed in the Peabody school of education and human development at Vanderbilt University. PTY staff, including the SAVY Director and Director of Academics, are full-time Vanderbilt employees. 

SAVY hires over 70 seasonal instructors and staff members to work in various capacities including both student facing and administrative roles. SAVY has many different teams that appeal to different interests, such as academic, operations, and student support. The SAVY team functions primarily as a flat hierarchy. While the SAVY admin team provides leadership and support to all SAVY team members, all SAVY team members directly report to the Director of Elementary Programs.  

You do not need to be a Vanderbilt student to apply for SAVY positions. 

Yes, you can bring a vehicle. SAVY purchases parking decals for summer staff. 

SAVY Staff Training is paid and meals are provided during training sessions. The overall goal of staff training is that staff are able to build community and connection with each other while also learning essential information to successfully complete their role with confidence. Staff Training is generally 3 days. The training sessions cover a variety of topics to ensure that staff feel prepared and understand their role. 

The following list of topics provides a sample of some of the trainings: 

• Philosophy and mission of Vanderbilt’s Programs for Talented Youth 

• Staff roles, expectations, and responsibilities 

• A typical day at SAVY 

• Responding to emergencies; Emergency call process 

• Vanderbilt University policies and procedures 

• Working with academically advanced students 

• ABCs of Behavioral Management 

• Ages and Stages of Youth Development 

• The social-emotional needs of students 

SAVY staff can wear casual and comfortable clothes during training and program. During the program, SAVY classroom assistants and academic team members wear PTY-provided shirts. Please refrain from wearing clothing with logos that are offensive or advertise adult beverages or illegal drugs as positions work with minors and parents of minors.  

Meals are provided during staff training. Lunch is available for SAVY admin and academic teams. Classroom assistants supporting K-6th grade courses should plan to bring a packed lunch each day. K-6 CAs will bring their students to the SAVY lunch space and the SAVY admin team will supervise their lunch period while CAs and instructors take a 30-minute break. Classroom assistants for 7th-8th grade have lunch provided but do help supervise students at the Commons dining hall.  

Each morning, the SAVY team has a group huddle in the arrival area to share any daily logistic, weather, or student updates. After dismissal, the SAVY team has an afternoon huddle to review the challenges and wins of the day, prepare for the upcoming days, build community, and gain support for any student or behavioral concerns. 

Typical hours worked differ by position. Classroom assistants typically work 35-40 hours per week. SAVY leadership roles typically work 40-50 hours per week. Daily shifts are included in each role’s job description on the job description page. SAVY staff typically arrive on campus between 7:15-8:15 AM and dismiss between 4:15-6:00PM, depending upon the role and day of the week. 

Staff who work are assigned a shift of over 6 hours receive a 30-minute, uninterrupted break. Classroom assistants K-6 will have their 30-minute break during their student’s lunch period. Classroom assistants 7th-8th grade will have their 30-minute break during their student’s organized recreational activities period. 

Vanderbilt student workers are not able to have other hourly on-campus employment while working at SAVY. Vanderbilt student workers and VTS (non-Vanderbilt) employees can have outside of VU employment or take classes during the summer, pending SAVY work hours are not disrupted. 

Yes. If you are interested in working at SAVY to fulfill an internship requirement, please inform SAVY Leadership as soon as possible after you are hired.  

Yes. We encourage all VU international students to contact Vanderbilt Student & Scholar Services (https://www.vanderbilt.edu/isss/) if they have questions about summer employment. 

SAVY staff will have extensive opportunities to interact and connect with others on the SAVY team working during the same session weeks. Due to the scope and various roles throughout the department, staff may not meet or get to know all PTY staff members.

SAVY staff will submit their hours through UKG (Kronos). More information can be found at https://hr.vanderbilt.edu/compensation/payroll/timesheet-faqs.php. 

The Leadership Team consists of the Head of Enrollment Support, Head of Student Support, Head of Operations, Head of Communication, Program Assistants and the SAVY Director of Elementary Programs. 

Yes. There is about a week of additional in-person training for the SAVY Leadership Team. In addition, some leadership roles require limited spring training, onboarding and work. 

No. The Classroom Assistant (CA) supports the SAVY academic experience through supporting logistical, risk management and scheduling aspects of the SAVY classroom. CAs are not expected to know or support content delivery. Sometimes specific courses benefit from a CA with some background knowledge (ex: coding and robotics).  

Preference is given to applicants who are available for all six weeks. Classsroom Assistants are expected to work a minimum of 3 weeks of the summer. Depending on ratios and need, however, there are times in which staff can be hired for June only or July only weeks.

Experience working with elementary and/or middle school students is strongly preferred. Experience in a school or academic setting is also preferred, but not required.

You are expected to remind students of SAVY policies and expectations. If a student is acting disrespectfully or inappropriately, we would like you to redirect them based on our policies. You also are expected to notify your supervisor of any concerning behaviors or repeated incidents.