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 salary, paid weekly, with health, dental, and vision coverage starting day one
- Full-time 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 assistance available)
- 40 hours per week, 100% classroom-based work with K-2 students
You have invested years in becoming an expert in structured literacy. Orton-Gillingham, LETRS, Wilson, IMSE, or a Master's in reading instruction. You can identify a student's error pattern and pinpoint the exact phonemic skill gap to address. You can build a phonics lesson from scratch without relying on a scripted curriculum. That expertise is the baseline. It is not what sets you apart.
What sets you apart is that young children become excited the moment you enter the room. At Alpha, this position is fundamentally a Guide role: a dynamic, engaging presence students are eager to learn alongside. Your structured-literacy background qualifies you; your capacity to captivate a K-2 classroom during a 20-minute workshop is what earns you the role. If the phrase "dynamic, engaging presence" does not resonate with you, this position is not the right fit.
Alpha has reimagined conventional instruction. Students advance through academic content independently on AI-adaptive platforms — no traditional lectures, no textbooks, no district pacing calendars. Your position represents the one area where human expertise remains essential. You create small-group reading workshops using live student performance data, and you facilitate motivation sessions designed to drive 100% of students to reach their weekly app targets through Alpha's motivational framework (school currency, leaderboards, age-appropriate gamification).
Your initial months focus on building credibility in the classroom. Workshops must be engaging, appropriately leveled, and demonstrably effective. Student satisfaction metrics and "love your Guide" survey scores (target 90%+) provide direct feedback. Once you establish that foundation, your responsibilities expand: analyzing AI-generated performance insights to refine upcoming instruction, communicating fluency progress and decoding gains to parents, and influencing how Alpha's K-2 reading methodology develops in tandem with adaptive technology. As Alpha opens new campuses, the systems you create will serve as the blueprint for reading instruction across the network.
Before an offer is extended, you will submit a short video presenting an engaging story for young children, and you will complete a full day on campus working directly with K-2 students. Low energy with children will disqualify you, regardless of credential strength. That is intentional. Apply today.
What you will be doing
- Creating and facilitating small-group K-2 reading workshops rooted in structured-literacy approaches (Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, LETRS, IMSE, or equivalent), informed by actual student performance data
- Running daily motivation sessions to ensure 100% of your students reach their weekly adaptive-app targets, using Alpha's motivational system (school currency, leaderboards, age-appropriate gamification)
- Conducting and interpreting running records, fluency assessments, and decoding measures to monitor progress and modify instruction for upcoming sessions
- Analyzing AI-generated performance insights from Alpha's adaptive learning platforms to differentiate instruction in the moment, not only during planning time
- Serving as the approachable, energetic adult your K-2 students are excited to see each day
What you will NOT be doing
- Implementing a published reading curriculum, scripted lesson plan, or district pacing guide; you create your own lessons based on student data
- Delivering lectures to an entire classroom; all instruction occurs in small, targeted groups while students complete academic subjects through adaptive apps
- Serving as a reading consultant, instructional coach to other teachers, or district-level specialist; you work directly with children in the classroom daily
- Managing a traditional classroom schedule — subject-by-subject lectures, homework correction, test preparation; your scheduled time consists of workshops, motivation sessions, and data-informed small groups
- Grading homework or issuing report cards; student progress is tracked through app data and your running records
Key responsibilities
Provide structured-literacy instruction that produces measurable acceleration in K-2 reading performance 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 field, plus 2+ years of full-time K-2 structured reading instruction in a school or clinical environment, employing systematic phonics or structured literacy
- Proven ability to create your own reading lessons and clearly explain what you teach and how, without depending on a published program
- Willingness to work on-site 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 assistance available)
- Willingness to work with all K-2 students (not exclusively struggling readers) and to incorporate AI and adaptive-learning tools into daily instruction
- Legal authorization to work in the U.S. or Puerto Rico without requiring visa sponsorship
- Bilingual English/Spanish required for the Dorado, Puerto Rico campus
Nice to have
- Direct experience with AI-powered or adaptive reading platforms (e.g., Amira, Lexia, i-Ready, Reading Plus) for instructional planning or analyzing student data
- Documented record of measurable reading outcomes (fluency gains in WCPM, accuracy improvement, decoding level advancement) you can describe with specific numbers
- Experience in non-traditional or innovative school environments (charter, micro-school, Montessori, hybrid)
- Experience in performance, youth sports coaching, or otherwise engaging a K-2 audience beyond the reading classroom
You will be working for
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