Reading 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
- $100,000/year salaried, paid weekly, with day-one health, dental, and vision benefits
- On-site at one Alpha campus: Phoenix, AZ; Oklahoma City or Tulsa, OK; Nashville, TN; Austin, Fort Worth, Houston (South Houston or The Woodlands), or Plano, TX; Park City (Salt Lake City), UT; or Dorado, Puerto Rico (relocation support provided)
- 40 hours/week, 100% in-classroom with K-2 students
You've spent years mastering structured literacy. Orton-Gillingham, LETRS, Wilson, IMSE, or a Master's in reading instruction. You can hear a student's miscue and know exactly which phonemic gap to target. You can design a phonics lesson cold, no scripted program required. That's the floor. It's not your edge.
Your edge is that six-year-olds light up when you walk in the room. At Alpha, this role is a Guide first: a compelling, energetic presence kids love working with. Your structured-literacy expertise gets you in the door; your ability to hold a K-2 classroom rapt for a 20-minute workshop is what gets you hired. If "compelling, energetic presence" doesn't describe you, this is the wrong job.
Alpha has torn up traditional instruction. Students complete academic coursework independently on AI-adaptive apps — no lectures, no textbooks, no pacing guides. Your role is the one place a human expert is irreplaceable. You design small-group reading workshops from real-time student performance data, and you run motivation sessions that drive 100% of your students to hit their weekly app goals using Alpha's motivational model (school currency, leaderboards, age-appropriate gamification).
Your first months are about earning the room. Workshops have to be fun, levelled, and visibly effective. Student satisfaction scores and "love your Guide" surveys (target 90%+) measure that directly. As you prove it, your scope grows: interpreting AI-generated performance data to adjust next-session instruction, surfacing fluency gains and decoding advancement to parents, and shaping how Alpha's K-2 reading approach evolves alongside the adaptive tools. As Alpha expands to new campuses, what you build becomes the model for reading instruction nationwide.
Before we hire you, you'll record a short video telling an engaging story for young kids, and you'll spend a full day on campus working directly with K-2 students. Flat energy with kids won't pass, no matter how strong your credentials. That's by design. Apply today.
What you will be doing
- Designing and leading small-group K-2 reading workshops grounded in structured-literacy methods (Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, LETRS, IMSE, or equivalent), built from real student data
- Leading daily motivation sessions that drive 100% of your students to hit their weekly adaptive-app goals, using Alpha's motivational model (school currency, leaderboards, age-appropriate gamification)
- Administering and analyzing running records, fluency probes, and decoding assessments to track gains and adjust next-session instruction
- Interpreting AI-generated performance data from Alpha's adaptive learning apps to differentiate instruction in real time, not just in pre-planning
- Being the relatable, energetic adult your K-2 students look forward to seeing every day
What you will NOT be doing
- Following a published reading curriculum, scripted program, or district pacing guide; you design your own lessons from student data
- Lecturing to a full classroom; all instruction happens in small, focused groups and students complete academic subjects via adaptive apps
- Working as a reading consultant, coach to other teachers, or district-level specialist; you are in the classroom with kids every day
- Running a traditional classroom block — subject-by-subject lectures, homework review, test prep; your scheduled blocks are workshops, motivation sessions, and data-driven small groups instead
- Grading homework or report cards; student progress lives in app data and your running records
Key responsibilities
Deliver structured-literacy instruction that measurably accelerates K-2 reading outcomes across phonics, fluency, and decoding.
Candidate requirements
- Structured-literacy certification (Orton-Gillingham, LETRS, Wilson Reading System, IMSE, CERI, Neuhaus, UFLI, or equivalent) OR a Master's degree in reading instruction
- Bachelor's degree in any subject, plus 2+ years of full-time K-2 structured reading instruction in a school or clinical setting, using systematic phonics or structured literacy
- Demonstrated ability to design your own reading lessons and articulate what you teach and how, without relying on a published program
- Willingness to work in person full-time at one Alpha campus: Phoenix, AZ; Oklahoma City or Tulsa, OK; Nashville, TN; Austin, Fort Worth, Houston (South Houston or The Woodlands), or Plano, TX; Park City (Salt Lake City), UT; or Dorado, Puerto Rico (relocation support provided)
- Willingness to work with all K-2 students (not only struggling readers) and to integrate AI and adaptive-learning tools into daily instruction
- Legally authorized to work in the U.S. or Puerto Rico without visa sponsorship
- Bilingual English/Spanish required for the Dorado, Puerto Rico campus
Nice to have
- Hands-on experience with AI-powered or adaptive reading platforms (e.g., Amira, Lexia, i-Ready, Reading Plus) for planning or student data analysis
- Track record of measurable reading outcomes (fluency gains in WCPM, accuracy improvement, decoding level advancement) you can name with numbers
- Background in non-traditional or innovative school models (charter, micro-school, Montessori, hybrid)
- Background performing, coaching youth sports, or otherwise holding a K-2 audience outside the reading classroom
You will be working for
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