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
Reading Specialist II $120,000 USD/year
Description
- $120,000/year salaried, paid weekly, with day-one health, dental, and vision benefits
- On-site at one Alpha campus: Beverly Hills, La Jolla (San Diego), Lake Forest (Orange County), Palo Alto, Piedmont, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, or South Bay (LA), CA; Greenwich, CT; Boca Raton or Miami Beach, FL; Chicago, IL; Boston, MA; Charlotte, NC; or New York City, NY (relocation support provided)
- 40 hours/week, 100% in-classroom with K-2 students
Your structured-literacy credential — Orton-Gillingham, LETRS, Wilson, IMSE, or a Master's in reading instruction — got you in the door of every K-2 reading job you've applied to. In most of them, it was also the ceiling: you implemented someone else's program and reported on it. Here the credential is the starting line. If that distinction matters to you, keep reading.
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 20-minute small-group workshops from real-time app data; the sessions are short by design, because precision beats length. You also run motivation sessions that drive 100% of your students to their weekly app goals using Alpha's motivational model (school currency, leaderboards, age-appropriate gamification). You hear a student's miscue mid-session, pinpoint the phonemic gap, and have tomorrow's workshop redesigned by end of day. That's the standard.
Families at these campuses have chosen Alpha for outcomes, not just attendance. Parents see weekly data on their child's reading growth and they have views. You will be asked direct questions about how a specific student is progressing, and "they're doing fine" will not be an acceptable answer. You will need to point to the running record, name the phonemic gap, and explain what you are doing about it. That accountability should feel like fuel, not friction.
Your first months are about earning the room. Workshops have to be fun, leveled, and visibly effective; student satisfaction and "love your Guide" surveys (target 90%+) measure that directly. As you prove it, your scope extends past your own classroom: what works for your students becomes the pattern other Alpha campuses adopt, and your diagnostic rigor shapes how reading is taught as Alpha grows. What you build here doesn't stop at your door.
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 small-group K-2 reading workshops from live adaptive-app data, grounded in structured-literacy methods (Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, LETRS, IMSE, or equivalent)
- Running daily motivation sessions that get 100% of your students to their weekly app goals using Alpha's motivational model (school currency, leaderboards, age-appropriate gamification)
- Interpreting AI-generated performance data (fluency curves, decoding accuracy, comprehension signal) to adjust instruction mid-day, not just in pre-planning
- Administering running records, fluency probes, and decoding assessments to produce gains visible on the weekly campus data review
- 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 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
- Writing IEPs, 504 plans, or formal diagnostic reports; student progress lives in app data and your running records, not in special-education paperwork
Key responsibilities
Produce measurable K-2 reading gains across phonics, fluency, and comprehension in a campus community where outcomes are reviewed weekly.
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 within the last 5 years, 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: Beverly Hills, La Jolla (San Diego), Lake Forest (Orange County), Palo Alto, Piedmont, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, or South Bay (LA), CA; Greenwich, CT; Boca Raton or Miami Beach, FL; Chicago, IL; Boston, MA; Charlotte, NC; or New York City, NY (relocation support provided)
- Willingness to work with all K-2 students (not only struggling readers) and integrate AI and adaptive-learning tools into daily instruction as those tools evolve
- Legally authorized to work in the U.S. without visa sponsorship
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
- Experience with diagnostic reading assessments (DRA, DIBELS, AIMSweb) for forming differentiated groups
- Experience in high-accountability school environments (independent, elite charter, premium tutoring with families who track outcomes closely)
- 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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