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
Literacy Specialist $120,000 USD/year
Description
- $120,000 annual salary paid weekly, health/dental/vision coverage begins on day one
- Full-time on-site at a single Alpha campus location: 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 assistance available)
- 40-hour work week, fully in-classroom with kindergarten through second-grade students
Your structured-literacy training—Orton-Gillingham, LETRS, Wilson, IMSE, or a Master's in reading instruction—has opened doors to every K-2 literacy position you pursued. In most settings, that credential also marked the limit: you delivered a pre-packaged program and tracked its results. At Alpha, the credential is your entry point. If that difference resonates with you, continue reading.
Alpha has dismantled conventional instruction. Academic content is mastered independently through AI-adaptive applications. No lectures, no textbooks, no district pacing calendars. Your role occupies the one space where human expertise cannot be replaced. You build 20-minute small-group workshops using real-time app analytics; sessions are intentionally brief, because targeted work outperforms duration. You also facilitate motivation sessions designed to propel 100% of students toward their weekly app targets using Alpha's behavioral model (campus currency, performance leaderboards, developmentally appropriate game mechanics). You catch a miscue during instruction, isolate the phonemic deficit, and recalibrate tomorrow's workshop before the day ends. That is the expectation.
Families selecting these campuses prioritize measurable outcomes over simple enrollment. Parents review weekly reading-growth data for their child and hold informed opinions. You will field specific questions about individual student progress, and vague reassurances will not suffice. You must reference the running record, identify the phonemic weakness, and describe your instructional response. That level of accountability should energize you, not burden you.
Your initial months focus on establishing credibility in the classroom. Workshops must be engaging, appropriately leveled, and demonstrably effective; student satisfaction metrics and "love your Guide" survey results (target 90%+) provide direct feedback. Once you establish your effectiveness, your influence grows beyond your classroom: instructional methods that succeed with your students inform practices adopted across other Alpha campuses, and your assessment precision influences how literacy instruction scales as Alpha expands. What you create here extends well beyond your immediate environment.
Before an offer is extended, you will submit a brief video recording of yourself telling a captivating story for young children, and you will complete a full day on campus working directly with K-2 students. Low energy with children disqualifies candidates regardless of credential strength. That standard is intentional. Apply today.
What you will be doing
- Creating small-group kindergarten through second-grade literacy workshops driven by live adaptive-app analytics, anchored in structured-literacy approaches (Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, LETRS, IMSE, or equivalent)
- Leading daily motivational sessions to ensure 100% of your students reach weekly app objectives using Alpha's behavioral system (campus currency, leaderboards, age-appropriate game mechanics)
- Analyzing AI-generated performance metrics (fluency trajectories, decoding precision, comprehension indicators) to modify instruction in real time, not only during planning periods
- Conducting running records, fluency probes, and decoding evaluations to generate progress visible in weekly campus data meetings
- Serving as the engaging, high-energy adult your K-2 students are excited to see each day
What you will NOT be doing
- Implementing a commercial reading curriculum, scripted lesson sequence, or district pacing calendar; you create lessons directly from student performance data
- Delivering whole-class lectures; all teaching occurs in small, targeted groups while students engage with academic content through adaptive apps
- Serving as a literacy consultant, instructional coach for colleagues, or district-level specialist; you work directly with children in the classroom daily
- Managing a conventional classroom schedule: subject-by-subject lectures, homework correction, test preparation. Your instructional time is allocated to workshops, motivation sessions, and data-informed small groups
- Drafting IEPs, 504 plans, or formal diagnostic evaluations; student advancement is documented through app analytics and your running records, not special-education compliance documents
Key responsibilities
Generate documented K-2 reading advancement across phonics, fluency, and comprehension within a campus culture where performance is assessed 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 discipline, plus 2+ years of full-time K-2 structured reading instruction in a school or clinical environment within the past 5 years, utilizing systematic phonics or structured literacy
- Proven capacity to create original reading lessons and clearly explain instructional content and methodology without depending on a published program
- Commitment to full-time on-site work 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 assistance available)
- Readiness to work with all K-2 students (not exclusively struggling readers) and incorporate AI and adaptive-learning technologies into daily practice as these tools develop
- Legal authorization to work in the U.S. without requiring visa sponsorship
Nice to have
- Practical experience using AI-driven or adaptive literacy platforms (e.g., Amira, Lexia, i-Ready, Reading Plus) for instructional planning or student data interpretation
- Documented history of quantifiable reading outcomes (fluency gains in WCPM, accuracy improvement, decoding level progression) that you can cite with specific numbers
- Familiarity with diagnostic literacy assessments (DRA, DIBELS, AIMSweb) for creating differentiated instructional groups
- Experience in high-accountability educational settings (independent schools, high-performing charter networks, premium tutoring services with outcome-focused families)
- Background in performance, youth sports coaching, or otherwise engaging a K-2 audience beyond traditional literacy instruction
You will be working for
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