Literacy Specialist $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
- $120,000 annual salary paid weekly, health/dental/vision coverage begins day one
- Full-time on campus at one Alpha location: Beverly Hills, La Jolla (San Diego), Lake Forest (Orange County), Piedmont, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, or Santa Monica, CA; Greenwich, CT; Boca Raton, FL; Chicago, IL; Boston, MA; or New York City, NY (relocation assistance available)
- 40-hour workweek, 100% in classroom working directly with K-3 students
Your structured-literacy credentials — Orton-Gillingham, LETRS, Wilson, IMSE, or a Master's in reading instruction — have opened every K-3 reading position door. In most roles, those same credentials also defined your ceiling: you delivered a prescribed program and documented outcomes. At Alpha, the credential marks your entry point. If that difference resonates, continue reading.
Alpha has redesigned traditional instruction from the ground up. Students progress through academic content independently using AI-adaptive applications. No lectures. No textbooks. No pacing guides. Your expertise occupies the one space where human judgment remains essential. You create 20-minute small-group workshops driven by real-time application data; sessions are intentionally brief because targeted precision outperforms duration. You also lead motivation sessions designed to propel 100% of students toward weekly app goals through Alpha's structured motivational framework (school currency, leaderboards, age-appropriate gamification). When you catch a student's miscue during instruction, you identify the underlying phonemic gap and have the next day's workshop redesigned before you leave campus. That level of responsiveness is expected.
Families who select these campuses prioritize measurable outcomes over simple attendance. Parents review weekly data on their child's reading development and they ask direct questions. You will field specific inquiries about individual student progress, and generic reassurances like "they're doing fine" will not suffice. You must reference the running record, name the phonemic deficit, and describe your intervention plan. This level of accountability should energize you, not exhaust you.
Your initial months center on building credibility in the classroom. Workshops must be engaging, appropriately leveled, and demonstrably effective; direct measures include student satisfaction scores and "love your Guide" survey results (target 90%+). Once you establish that foundation, your influence grows beyond your own students: successful methods you develop become templates adopted across other Alpha campuses, and your diagnostic precision influences reading instruction as Alpha expands. Your contributions extend beyond your immediate environment.
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-3 students. Low energy with children disqualifies candidates regardless of credential strength. This is intentional. Apply today.
What you will be doing
- Creating small-group K-3 reading workshops using live adaptive-app data, rooted in structured-literacy approaches (Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, LETRS, IMSE, or equivalent)
- Facilitating daily motivation sessions to ensure 100% of students reach weekly app targets through Alpha's motivational framework (school currency, leaderboards, age-appropriate gamification)
- Analyzing AI-generated performance metrics (fluency trajectories, decoding precision, comprehension indicators) to modify instruction in real time, not solely during planning periods
- Conducting running records, fluency probes, and decoding assessments that yield measurable gains visible in weekly campus data reviews
- Serving as the engaging, high-energy adult your K-3 students are excited to see daily
What you will NOT be doing
- Implementing a commercial reading curriculum, scripted lesson plan, or district pacing guide; you build lessons directly from student performance data
- Delivering whole-group lectures; all teaching occurs in targeted, small-group formats while students access academic subjects through adaptive applications
- Serving as a reading coach, consultant to other educators, or district-level specialist; your daily work is in the classroom with students
- Managing a conventional classroom schedule: period-by-period lectures, homework correction, test preparation. Your time is allocated to workshops, motivation sessions, and data-informed small groups
- Authoring IEPs, 504 plans, or formal diagnostic documentation; student progress is captured in app analytics and your running records, not special-education forms
Key responsibilities
Generate measurable K-3 reading progress in phonics, fluency, and comprehension within a campus environment where performance is evaluated 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 field, plus 2+ years of full-time K-3 structured reading instruction in a school or clinical environment within the past 5 years, using systematic phonics or structured literacy
- Proven capacity to independently design reading lessons and clearly explain instructional methods and content, without reliance on a published curriculum
- Availability to work in person full-time at one Alpha campus: Beverly Hills, La Jolla (San Diego), Lake Forest (Orange County), Piedmont, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, or Santa Monica, CA; Greenwich, CT; Boca Raton, FL; Chicago, IL; Boston, MA; or New York City, NY (relocation assistance available)
- Commitment to instructing all K-3 students (not exclusively struggling readers) and incorporating AI and adaptive-learning platforms into daily teaching as these technologies develop
- Legal authorization to work in the U.S. without need for visa sponsorship
Nice to have
- Direct experience using AI-powered or adaptive reading platforms (e.g., Amira, Lexia, i-Ready, Reading Plus) for instructional planning or student data interpretation
- Documented history of quantifiable reading outcomes (fluency increases measured in WCPM, accuracy gains, decoding level progression) you can cite with specific numbers
- Familiarity with diagnostic reading assessments (DRA, DIBELS, AIMSweb) for creating differentiated instructional groups
- Prior work in high-accountability educational settings (independent schools, elite charter networks, premium tutoring services with outcome-focused families)
- Experience in performance, youth sports coaching, or other activities involving engaging K-3 audiences outside traditional reading instruction
You will be working for
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