Who to Hire as a Kids Enrichment Instructor (Episode 22)

Episode 22 · June 18, 2026 · Guest: Jessica Vorster, enrops

Hire kids enrichment instructors for how they are with kids first and what they know second. The people who do best in our programs love something outside of education, like music or art, have open afternoons, and bring real kindness and empathy. Then teach them a few classroom routines, sit in on their classes, and coach what you see.

Listen or watch: Spotify · YouTube · Apple Podcasts

This episode of The Youth Enrichment Leader is How to Hire Instructors for Kids Enrichment with Jessica Vorster. Jessica is Head of Platform at enrops, with two decades in education and teacher training, so everything here comes from running real classes at real schools.

Who makes the best instructor for a kids enrichment program?

Someone with a passion outside education, a flexible schedule, and natural warmth with kids. Jessica told me this surprised her. She expected career teachers to be the answer, and the timing rarely works. Teachers are still at school when after-school programs start.

The instructors who thrived for us were musicians, artists and makers who brought their whole personality into the room. Her point: kids can tell when an adult is being real, so a good manager learns who each instructor is and builds on that.

My own surprise ran the other way. Coming from schools, I expected behavior to be the hard part. Kids in enrichment want to be there. The job is channeling that energy. The part I underestimated was logistics.

What should I teach a new instructor who has never taught before?

Teach routines. Jessica's view is that a caring person with no teaching background needs a handful of small strategies far more than a theory course. These are the ones she named.

1. Set a routine and run it the same way every class, so the room feels safe and predictable.
2. Lay out the whole session at the start, so kids know what's coming.
3. Tell them exactly what they'll make or do today.
4. Give time checks as you go. Ten minutes left to build. Five minutes to clean up.

How that fits inside an hour is in how to structure a STEM after-school class.

Why should I sit in on my instructors' classes?

Because it's the only way to know how your curriculum lands when someone else teaches it. If you wrote it and you taught it, you've only seen it work one way. Jessica sat in on a lot of classes in her first months and spotted programs that needed a refresh. One looked wonderful on paper. In the room, kids were bored and the instructor was working overtime to save it. We're a small team, so we rebuilt it right away. That is one of my favorite things about this business. In a big district, changing curriculum takes years.

The second reason is support. She never tells an instructor she's coming to evaluate them. She tells them she's coming to help. Instructors look forward to the visit, and she gets to be with kids, which is the best part of the job. If you're still teaching everything yourself, read when to stop teaching every class.

What should I look for in my first program manager?

Someone who can hold many threads at once and has proven it. Reaching out to fall partners is a task that runs for weeks and needs a touch every day, alongside hiring, schedules and enrollment. Jessica's list: strong work ethic, organized, some education background, and a person you trust with a piece of what you built.

I'd add two reasons the education background matters. They can step into a classroom on day one when a program needs help. And they can handle the delicate conversations, with a parent, a school leader or an instructor, where a simple message gets hard because it's about a child.

Which conversations should I never automate?

Anything about someone's child or someone's work performance. Automate the reminders and the logistics. If a tool drafts a sensitive reply for you, read the tone before you send it. You are the human in the middle.

Jessica made the point as a mom. At elementary pickup, parents talk. When one trusted parent has doubts about a program, the others skip it. They have plenty of other programs to pick from. Her standard is kind and understanding in every message, however hard the situation. In her experience the parent nearly always says thank you, and often shares what works at home, which she passes to the instructor.

How do I use data to decide what to run and when to email?

Look at what you canceled, then plan your messages backward from the deadline. Jessica looked at how many spring break camps we had canceled and recommended we stop offering them. Every cancellation lands three times: on the instructor who lost work, the family who lost their plan, and the partner who hosted it. More in when to cancel a class for low enrollment.

She also taught me not to exhaust our email list. I used to send a "still space!" email whenever a number looked low. Her cadence for a program three months out is about seven emails.

• Weeks 12, 10, 8 and 6: one email every other week. Mostly information. A typical day, photos, a parent's words.
• Then 72, 48 and 24 hours before the deadline: shorter each time.
• 4 + 3 = 7 emails, each with its own reason to open.

The 24-hour email brings the most registrations, and it only works because the earlier ones built trust. She runs two deadlines: a discount code deadline first, then a registration deadline about a week before the start date, so there's time to tell the instructor and the school if a class won't run.

Who should listen to this episode?

Owners hiring their first instructors or their first manager. It's 41 minutes. Jessica also shares the sub lesson she learned the hard way: pick the sub who already has that program's materials. The full plan is in how to build a sub plan that holds.

Listen or watch: Spotify · YouTube · Apple Podcasts

Frequently asked questions

Should I hire licensed teachers as after-school instructors?

Hire them when the schedule works, which is rare during the school year. The profile that worked for us: open afternoons, a passion they can share, and kindness.

How often should I observe a new instructor?

Early and more than once. The episode doesn't give a number. What matters is that the first visit happens in the first weeks and is framed as help.

How far ahead should registration close?

About a week before the first class. That gives you time to make the call and tell the instructor, the school and the families.

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Arielle Hammond, Ed.D. is the founder of enrops and host of The Youth Enrichment Leader, presented by enrops.