Futures centre internship volunteer roles in newcastle

Burbrella Learning Academy

Burbrella is a transformative microschool network and social enterprise that reimagines education for underserved, gifted, neurodivergent, and marginalized learners through culturally grounded, trauma-informed, and personalized learning environments.

Traditional public education systems often fail to serve students equitably, especially those who are neurodivergent, gifted, or from historically marginalized communities. These systems disproportionately punish Black and Brown neurodivergent youth through suspensions, expulsions, and criminalization, contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline. Standardized curricula and overstimulating environments exclude students with ADHD, autism, and sensory processing differences, while cultural misalignment, misdiagnosis, and overcrowded classrooms further isolate and stigmatize these learners. Public schools also frequently overlook the needs of families with nontraditional work schedules, leaving parents out of the educational process. In addition, most school buildings are not designed with neurodiverse learners in mind, lacking sensory-friendly design. Burbrella directly addresses these systemic issues by offering inclusive, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive microschools where students learn in small, supportive environments tailored to their strengths, identities, and needs. We center restorative practices, sensory-conscious design, family partnership, and differentiated instruction to ensure all students are seen, respected, and equipped to thrive.

Burbrella is building a holistic educational ecosystem that closes opportunity gaps and cultivates empowered learners ready for the future. Our microschools offer safe, identity-affirming, and high-growth environments tailored to the unique strengths of Black, Brown, and neurodivergent students.

We serve learners from early childhood through high school using a scaffolded model:

• K–2: Play-based learning emphasizing sensory exploration, social-emotional development, early literacy, nature, and culinary arts.
• Grades 3–5: STEM-centered inquiry with hands-on exploration in environmental science, robotics, and math fluency. Grades 6–8: Interdisciplinary project-based learning integrating civic engagement, tech fluency, and mastery-based progression.
• Grades 9–12: College, career, and entrepreneurship readiness with dual enrollment, internships, and real-world business development opportunities.

Our model integrates restorative practices, sensory-informed spaces, low student-teacher ratios, and culturally responsive pedagogy to ensure every learner can thrive.

Country: United State of America.

Grant and Compliance Assistant

Volunteer Role Description (remote, unpaid)

• Assist with identifying and researching potential grant opportunities from public and private funders
• Support the drafting, formatting, and submission of grant proposals and reports
• Track grant deadlines, deliverables, and compliance requirements
• Help maintain organized grant documentation and filing systems
• Assist with internal compliance audits and data collection for reporting
• Support communication between program teams and funding partners
• Stay up to date on changes in grant regulations and funding trends
• Contribute to creating templates, tools, and workflows that support compliance and reporting

Weekly Time Commitment

7-9 hours per week

Duration of Volunteer Role (remote)

3-5 months