Structured Literacy Specialist $100,000 USD/year Pay is set based on global value, not the local market.
Most roles = hourly rate x 40 hrs x 50 weeks
Description
Most reading specialists only see the kids who are already behind. You've spent your career thinking that's backwards — that the Science of Reading should reach every child, not just the ones who triggered an intervention flag. If that belief drives how you teach, keep reading.
Waypoint Academy is a nature-based school where mornings are for focused academics and afternoons are for archery, survival skills, and exploring the Texas Hill Country. Your job is the morning half: running small-group structured literacy sessions that move every K-2 student forward in phonics, decoding, fluency, and writing. You design the instruction. You read the data. You regroup and adapt in real time. The other half of your day is coaching students through adaptive learning apps, building the relationships that get every student to 100% of their app-based goals. No scripted curriculum. No pull-out model. You own literacy outcomes for the entire cohort.
You're joining a small, young school. That means you're building the literacy program, not inheriting one. As enrollment grows, you'll shape how structured literacy scales across new cohorts and grade levels. If you want a static position with established routines, this isn't it. If you want to prove that every child can learn to read faster when someone designs instruction around them specifically, this is the role.
What you will be doing
- Running small-group structured literacy workshops: systematic phonics, decoding, fluency, and early writing for all K-2 students, not just those flagged for intervention
- Analyzing student data from adaptive apps and running records to regroup students and adjust instruction between sessions
- Coaching students one-on-one and in small groups through adaptive learning software, building relationships that drive goal completion
- Designing your own lessons using structured literacy principles, tailored to each group's current level and pace
- Incorporating occasional outdoor or hands-on elements to reinforce literacy concepts when they genuinely enhance learning
What you will NOT be doing
- Coordinating pull-out schedules or writing IEPs alongside classroom teachers. Every student is your student.
- Passively supervising students on learning apps. You actively coach them to complete goals, not watch them click through screens.
- Sitting in a traditional classroom all day. Students spend afternoons outdoors, so your literacy blocks are concentrated and high-energy.
- Grading stacks of worksheets — adaptive software handles practice volume and progress tracking, freeing you to focus on direct instruction.
Key responsibilities
Accelerate reading and writing growth across all K-2 students through structured literacy instruction and adaptive learning tools.
Candidate requirements
- Bachelor's degree in any subject
- Master's degree in reading instruction OR structured literacy certification such as Orton-Gillingham, Wilson Reading System, IMSE, CERI, LETRS, Neuhaus, or UFLI. One of these is required, not optional.
- 2+ years of full-time K-2 structured reading instruction using systematic phonics in a school or clinical setting, within the last 5 years
- Experience designing your own reading lessons, and you can describe what you teach and how without referencing a published program
- Willing to work in-person at Waypoint Academy, Dripping Springs (Austin area), TX
- Willing to work with all K-2 students (not just struggling readers) and use AI-powered adaptive learning tools daily
- Legally authorized to work in the U.S. without visa sponsorship
Nice to have
- Experience with multiple structured literacy frameworks (e.g., Orton-Gillingham and UFLI) with a clear rationale for when each applies
- Measurable reading gains across a full cohort, not just intervention caseloads. You can name the metrics and the numbers.
- Familiarity with adaptive reading platforms (Lexia, Amira, Reading Eggs, or similar) and using their data to drive instructional decisions
- Experience in non-traditional school settings: micro-schools, outdoor education programs, Montessori, or similar environments
You will be working for
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