2026 VSPN Freedom School Action Camp | Coordinator Application

2026 VSPN Freedom School Action

Coordinator Application
Program Timeline: June 2026 - July 2026

About Us

The Virginia Student Power Network (VSPN) is a Black-led, youth-led, queer-led abolitionist organization at the forefront of transformative change. For the past 13 years, our organization has served a crucial role in advancing progressive values, shifting conditions, and generating new opportunities for liberation.

Our network of young people is committed to ending policing, prisons, surveillance, and militarism. We fight for our future, collective liberation, in which all communities break free from policing and the carceral state and everyone has the skills necessary to make sense of the world – and where young people, students, and workers have decision-making power, self-determination, and autonomy within their lives.

Our priority issues include:
- Education
- Criminal Legal System
- Bodily Autonomy, Defense & Liberation
- Housing, Land & Labor
- International Solidarity
What is FSAC (Freedom School Action Camp)?

Each summer VSPN hosts an annual “Freedom School” organizing training program. This year, our team is expanding its efforts through our 6th-annual Freedom School Action Camp (FSAC) program. By connecting alumni, partners, and current youth leaders, we aim to strengthen statewide youth organizing and expand the realm of what is possible in our state, and beyond—and we want to invite you to support our 2026 FSAC cohort.

Our Freedom School Action Camp (FSAC) is a summer youth organizing cohort focused on transformative leadership development.

We do this in five major ways:
- Political education training sessions
- Campaign organizing
- Base building
- (Peer-to-peer) Mentorship
During this training camp, coordinators will engage dozens of young people—ages 18 to 35—organizing on, or around, university campuses in Virginia. This program will be primarily virtual, with some opportunities for in-person engagement.

NOTE: VSPN remains committed to COVID-informed practices and will require high-quality masking, testing, and contact tracing for any in-person gatherings.
Application deadline: Sunday, June 7th, 2026 at 11:59pm (EST)

Link to job description (PDF): bit.ly/fsac-coordinator-about
Name

First NameLast Name
Email
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Phone Number
Format: (000) 000-0000.

Role Descriptions
VSPN is excited to onboard 4-8 paid coordinators to help put on the latest iteration of our summer organizing program. Coordinators will work closely with the VSPN Staff team to execute a 6-week-long political organizing camp.

The goals of this project include:
- Deepening VSPN’s base in target regions across Virginia
- Moving members along our leadership pipeline, into cadre roles committed to
- Building with VSPN beyond BOLD Phase II and into our Capstone phase, by contributing to our civic engagement publication
- As a Program Coordinator, you will play a crucial role in revising and delivering engaging and comprehensive political development via training sessions for our Freedom School Action Camp. If you have a passion for political education and a desire to help young people grow as organizers, this may be the perfect opportunity for you.
  
  Goals & Outcomes
  
  As program coordinator, The selected contractor will work closely with VSPN’s senior leadership team to create at least one, 90-minute training session for Virginia Student Power Network’s summer organizing fellowship (FSAC). The contractor will meet with supervisors to facilitate modules and activities.
  
  The goals of this position are as follows:
  - Develop deeper ideological grounding and root youth organizing in dialectical historical analysis
  - Strengthen organizing, facilitation, and political education skills (praxis-raising)
  - Support cross-relational and issue-based organizing, locally and statewide
  - Build shared political alignment, strategy, and stakes among emerging organizers
  To accomplish the goals of the project, the selected contractors will work closely with our Program Director to meet the goals identified above. If hired, VSPN’s current library of training materials and curricula will be made available to you.
  
  The plan is to include the following deliverables:
  - Promote VSPN’s Freedom School Action Camp program and recruit young, community organizers in Virginia to participate in weekly training sessions beginning in June 2026 and ending in August 2026.
  - Plan and facilitate topics of discussion (modules and reflections) for at least one 90-minute meeting.
  - Determine the most effective delivery method for facilitating the meeting / training session.
  - Provide support and ideas for youth organizers to improve their leadership and basebuilding praxis.
  - Track participants' attendance.
  - Contribute to an evaluation of the overall project, including feedback for next steps and data reporting.
  Training Schedule
  
  The program schedule is based on the current timeline. The contractor will work with the VSPN’s senior leadership team to finalize dates. The expected program completion date is mid- to end-of- July 2026. If a training date you’re interested in facilitating needs to be adjusted, please include your readjusted proposed date, as well as your reasoning for shifting the schedule. All proposed date changes will be considered.
  
  Payment
  
  Contractors will receive a payment of $250 per training to develop and implement the project deliverables. All payments will be issued by the end of the program, or no later than August 2026.
- As VSPN’s Basebuilding Coordinator, you will transform our cohort into an organized—and engaged—community through sustained relational organizing and accountability practices.
  
  To accomplish the goals of the project, the selected contractor will work closely with our Program Director to meet the following goals:
  
  Goals & Outcomes
  
  The plan is to include the following deliverables:
  - Work with our Senior Regional Organizer to engage with FSAC pods
  - Conduct regular check-ins with camp participants (1:1 or small group)
  - Track participant engagement and barriers to participation
  - Follow up on absences and support retention
  - Facilitate digital organizing spaces (group chats, etc.)
  - Plan and support social events and community-building spaces.
  - Identify emerging leaders within the cohort.
  - Contribute to an evaluation of the overall project, including feedback for next steps and data reporting.
  Contractors will receive a payment of $1000 to co-develop and implement the project deliverables. All payments will be issued by the end of the program, or no later than August 2026.
- Our trainings will cover several modules, following this year’s camp theme: maroonage. Each module tackles different elements of organizing & powerbuilding, through the lens of maroonage, survival, and community.
- - A community organizer, trainer, or educator; or
  - A current/former student or youth-leader who is…
    
    Currently enrolled in a university or college in Virginia and
    
    Has been through one of VSPN’s previous FSAC cycles or
  - A VSPN Legacy Member, meaning someone who…
    
    Graduated or is no longer attending, school and
    
    Former Freedom Schools Fellow
    
    Former Summer Organizing fellow
    
    Former Vote Fellow,
    
    Former VSPN Staff
    
    Current VSPN Board Member
    
    Previously Active Member or
  - VSPN partner, meaning someone who…
    
    Worked, or works, in a coalition with VSPN
    
    Collaborated with VSPN staff team on programming
- Coordinator time commitment varies based on your availability and position, with no more than 3–8 hours per training expected—including planning, execution, and evaluation—for program coordinators, and no more than 7-10 hours a week for the basebuilding coordinator. Program coordinators must facilitate at least one, 90-minute training session, and no more than three throughout the duration of the program.
- Which position are you applying for?

Program Coordinator

Read the descriptions of each module below before selecting an option.

Module 1: Terrain (Thursday June 18th–Thurs, June 25th)

How do we build something sustainable—something free—within a contested landscape?

This module focuses on the foundations of maroonage, including measuring sites of capture & domination. Program coordinators will lead campers through foundational organizing concepts, the historical development of higher education, helping youth to analyze its current function within the neoliberal paradigm. Training sessions should tackle the idea of power, and help youth make sense of the power structures impacting their own lives.

Core sessions topics: Power & power analysis, Neoliberalism & Higher Education, Foundations of Organizing / Organizing Fundamentals, and University Power Structures.

Module 2: Navigation (Tues, June 30th–Tues., July 7)

Maroon communication was about discretion, evading capture, and signaling sites of freedom/autonomy. This module explores strategic communication and how we use it to navigate through contested and surveilled terrain; it's about the symbols and messages we use to measure our relative distance from bondage, capture, and our proximity to freedom. How do we engage within the digital realm to contest for power? To connect with our people? To share our stories? Program coordinators should lead campers through concepts of storytelling, narrative shaping & narrative mapping, effective communications tactics & strategies, and digital security practices. Training sessions should explore how to utilize the digital realm and digital tools into online engagement and offline power.

Core sessions topics: Strategic Communications, Digital Organizing, Digital Security and Earned Media

Module 3: Kinship (Thurs. July 9th–Thurs, July 16th)

Strong relationships were crucial to ensuring the sustainability of maroon communities. Building deep trust is essential to deploying political strategies. In this module, we will explore how we build strong relationships that translate to long-term power and material change in our communities. Program coordinators should lead campers through concepts of community care & relational organizing, and campaign development fundamentals. Training sessions should: guide youth through the foundations of campaign organizing; and, help youth make sense of how to utilize campaign organizing to build and deepen relationships.

Includes sessions topics such as: Relational organizing, campaign development, and community care

Which module would you like to facilitate during? (select all that apply)

Module 1

Terrain

Module 1: Terrain (Thursday June 18th–Thurs, June 25th)

How do we build something sustainable—something free—within a contested landscape?

Core sessions topics: Power & power analysis, Neoliberalism & Higher Education, Foundations of Organizing / Organizing Fundamentals, and University Power Structures.

VSPN has an extensive resource bank, including facilitation guides, virtual activities, and study guides. As a program coordinator, you'll use VSPN's existing curriculum to inform the training session(s) you facilitate. All existing resources can be repurposed for this year's cohort, but will need minor revisions to align with current events and this year's FSAC theme (maroonage).

Program Coordinators should be prepared to review our past training material, in collaboration with the Program Director, to identify any needed (or desired) changes.
Which training would you like to facilitate during Module 1?
VSPN offers regular political development opportunities. When we host a training session, each facilitator shares the responsibility of co-creating knowledge. As a program coordinator, how would you interpret the selected training(s) within the context of this year's theme? What unique perspective do you have on the training topic, and how would you use that perspective to breathe new life into it?

0/0
Each training VSPN hosts includes a set of learning objectives: a list of intended outcomes for those who attend. Thinking on the selected, training(s), list 1-2 specific tools or skills you believe participants should leave this training with.

0/0
Training Title
Name of the session (optional)
Please upload any work samples, session outlines, facilitation guides, or other relevant documents.

Cancelof
To submit your responses as a voice message instead, tap the button below.

Module 2

Navigation

Module 2: Navigation (Tues, June 30th–Tues., July 7)

Core sessions topics: Strategic Communications, Digital Organizing, Digital Security and Earned Media

VSPN has an extensive resource bank, including facilitation guides, virtual activities, and study guides. As a program coordinator, you'll use VSPN's existing curriculum to inform the training session(s) you facilitate. All existing resources can be repurposed for this year's cohort, but will need minor revisions to align with current events and this year's FSAC theme (maroonage).

Program Coordinators should be prepared to review our past training material, in collaboration with the Program Director, to identify any needed (or desired) changes.
Which training would you like to facilitate during Module 2?
VSPN offers regular political development opportunities. When we host a training session, each facilitator shares the responsibility of co-creating knowledge. As a program coordinator, how would you interpret the selected training(s) within the context of this year's theme? What unique perspective do you have on the training topic, and how would you use that perspective to breathe new life into it?

0/0
Each training VSPN hosts includes a set of learning objectives: a list of intended outcomes for those who attend. Thinking on the selected, training(s), list 1-2 specific tools or skills you believe participants should leave this training with.

0/0
Training Title
Name of the session (optional)
Please upload any work samples, session outlines, facilitation guides, or other relevant documents.

Cancelof
To submit your responses as a voice message instead, tap the button below.

Module 3

Kinship

Module 3: Kinship (Thurs. July 9th–Thurs, July 16th)

Includes sessions topics such as: Relational organizing, campaign development, and community care

VSPN has an extensive resource bank, including facilitation guides, virtual activities, and study guides. As a program coordinator, you'll use VSPN's existing curriculum to inform the training session(s) you facilitate. All existing resources can be repurposed for this year's cohort, but will need minor revisions to align with current events and this year's FSAC theme (maroonage).

Program Coordinators should be prepared to review our past training material, in collaboration with the Program Director, to identify any needed (or desired) changes.
Which training would you like to facilitate during Module 3?
VSPN offers regular political development opportunities. When we host a training session, each facilitator shares the responsibility of co-creating knowledge. As a program coordinator, how would you interpret the selected training(s) within the context of this year's theme? What unique perspective do you have on the training topic, and how would you use that perspective to breathe new life into it?

0/0
Each training VSPN hosts includes a set of learning objectives: a list of intended outcomes for those who attend. Thinking on the selected, training(s), list 1-2 specific tools or skills you believe participants should leave this training with.

0/0
Training Title
Name of the session (optional)
Please upload any work samples, session outlines, facilitation guides, or other relevant documents.

Cancelof
To submit your responses as a voice message instead, tap the button below.

Additional Information
This information is not required but may allow us to better determine if your experience is aligned with our program needs.
Share a little bit about yourself and why you want to support our Freedom School Action Camp.
(Optional)
Do you have any previous experience that demonstrates your skills, or helps us to better understand why you're a good fit for this position? If yes, please share.
(Optional)
List 1-2 references or testimonies of support.
(Optional)
Anything else you'd like to share? If yes, please upload.

This can be a resume, a personal bio, or something else.
Cancelof
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Submit Application
Do you have any questions or comments for us? If yes, please list them.
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Please note that our staff team may reach out to you via phone or email during the application period.
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2026 VSPN Freedom School Action

Role Descriptions

Program Coordinator

Module 1

Module 2

Module 3

Additional Information

Submit Application