Reading Specialist II $120,000 USD/year Pay is set based on global value, not the local market.
Most roles = hourly rate x 40 hrs x 50 weeks
Description
- In-person at an Alpha campus in Lake Forest CA, Palo Alto CA, Piedmont CA, San Francisco CA, Santa Monica CA, Greenwich CT, Chicago IL, Boston MA, New York City NY, or Chantilly VA (relocation support provided)
- $120,000/year salary, paid weekly. Day-one health, dental, and vision benefits
- AI-powered tools and adaptive learning integrated into daily instruction
You believe 20 minutes of precisely targeted reading instruction beats 90 minutes of scripted curriculum, and you have the student data to prove it. You've watched kids stuck on a phonics plateau break through because you diagnosed the gap yourself, not because a program told you what to teach next. If designing your own lessons from real-time student data sounds like freedom rather than extra work, keep reading.
At Alpha, reading instruction runs on a simple premise: every minute matters. Your workshops are 20-minute sessions built around what each student actually needs, not what a pacing guide says they should need. You'll assess reading levels, form targeted groups, and deliver high-impact structured literacy instruction (phonics, fluency, comprehension) to 4-7 year olds that moves them measurably forward each week. AI-powered adaptive tools sit alongside you, generating performance data you'll use to adjust tomorrow's lesson before today's session ends.
This role grows. In year one, you're deep in the classroom: running workshops, leading motivational sessions that turn reluctant readers into eager ones, and feeding detailed observations back to the technology team refining Alpha's AI literacy tools. As those tools scale and your feedback shapes them, your expertise extends beyond your own students. You'll help build a reading program that works across campuses, turning what you do with 15 kids into a system that reaches hundreds.
If you've spent your career proving that structured literacy works and you're ready to pair that expertise with technology that amplifies it, this is where your impact stops being limited by your classroom walls.
What you will be doing
- Designing and delivering 20-minute reading workshops built from your own diagnostic assessments of each student's reading level and gaps
- Using AI-generated student performance data to adjust groupings and lesson focus between sessions, not just during quarterly reviews
- Running motivational sessions that build intrinsic reading drive, using age-appropriate gamification and individual goal-setting with K-2 students
- Testing and evaluating AI literacy tools in live workshops, then providing structured feedback to the technology team on what works and what doesn't
- Tracking measurable outcomes (fluency gains, decoding level advancement, accuracy improvement) and using them to refine your approach weekly
What you will NOT be doing
- Following a scripted or packaged reading program. You diagnose needs and design instruction yourself.
- Teaching 60-90 minute lecture-style literacy blocks. Sessions are short, focused, and high-intensity.
- Working only with struggling readers. You'll instruct all K-2 students across reading levels.
- Operating in isolation from technology. AI adaptive tools are part of your daily workflow, not an occasional add-on.
- Waiting for quarterly data reviews to change your approach. You adjust in real time based on what the data shows today.
Key responsibilities
Bring early elementary students to grade-level reading proficiency through adaptive, AI-enhanced structured literacy instruction.
Candidate requirements
- Bachelor's degree (any subject)
- Master's in reading instruction OR structured literacy certification (Orton-Gillingham, Wilson Reading System, IMSE, CERI, LETRS, Neuhaus, UFLI, or equivalent)
- 2+ years of full-time K-2 structured reading instruction in a school or clinical setting within the last 5 years, using systematic phonics or structured literacy
- Ability to design your own reading lessons and clearly describe what you teach and how, without relying on a published program
- Willingness to work in-person at an Alpha campus (Lake Forest CA, Palo Alto CA, Piedmont CA, San Francisco CA, Santa Monica CA, Greenwich CT, Chicago IL, Boston MA, New York City NY, or Chantilly VA; relocation support provided)
- Willingness to use AI and adaptive learning tools daily and adapt as tools evolve
- Legally authorized to work in the U.S. without visa sponsorship
Nice to have
- Experience with diagnostic reading assessments (e.g., DRA, DIBELS, AIMSweb) for forming differentiated groups
- Track record of measurable student reading gains you can describe with specific data (e.g., moved 12 students from Level C to Level G in one semester)
- Background collaborating with edtech teams, product teams, or instructional designers on tool development
- Experience in a startup, micro-school, or non-traditional school environment where you built systems rather than followed them
You will be working for
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