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, with health, dental, and vision coverage starting on day one
- Full-time on-site at one Alpha campus 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 hours per week, 100% classroom-based with students in grades K-3
Your structured-literacy training — whether Orton-Gillingham, LETRS, Wilson, IMSE, or a Master's in reading instruction — has opened the door to every K-3 reading position you've pursued. At most schools, that credential also marks the limit: you execute an existing program and provide updates on it. At Alpha, the credential is your entry point. If that difference resonates with you, continue reading.
Alpha has redesigned traditional instruction from the ground up. Academic content is delivered independently through AI-adaptive applications. There are no lectures, no textbooks, no preset pacing calendars. Your position is the one area where human expertise cannot be replaced. You build 20-minute small-group workshops using real-time application data; sessions are brief intentionally, because targeted instruction outperforms duration. You also facilitate motivation sessions designed to ensure 100% of students reach their weekly app targets, using Alpha's motivational framework (school currency, leaderboards, age-appropriate game mechanics). When you catch a miscue mid-session, you identify the phonemic breakdown and revise the next day's workshop before you leave. That is the expectation.
Families enrolled at these campuses have selected Alpha for results, not simply enrollment. Parents review weekly reports on their child's reading development and they ask questions. You will face specific inquiries about individual student progress, and vague reassurances will not suffice. You will reference the running record, identify the phonemic deficit, and describe your instructional response. That level of accountability should energize you, not exhaust you.
Your initial months focus on proving your impact. Workshops must be engaging, appropriately leveled, and demonstrably effective; student satisfaction and "love your Guide" survey results (target 90%+) provide direct feedback. Once you establish that credibility, your influence extends beyond your own classroom: successful methods you develop become models for other Alpha campuses, and your diagnostic precision informs how reading instruction evolves as Alpha expands. Your work has reach beyond your immediate space.
Before we extend an offer, you will submit a short video of yourself telling 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 will disqualify you, regardless of credential strength. That is intentional. Apply today.
What you will be doing
- Creating small-group K-3 reading workshops driven by live adaptive-app data, rooted in structured-literacy approaches (Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, LETRS, IMSE, or equivalent)
- Leading daily motivation sessions that drive 100% of students to their weekly app targets using Alpha's motivational system (school currency, leaderboards, age-appropriate gamification)
- Analyzing AI-generated performance metrics (fluency trends, decoding precision, comprehension indicators) to modify instruction mid-day, not only during planning time
- Conducting running records, fluency probes, and decoding assessments to generate gains that appear on the weekly campus data review
- Serving as the engaging, high-energy adult your K-3 students are excited to see each day
What you will NOT be doing
- Implementing a published reading curriculum, scripted program, or district pacing calendar; you create lessons based on student data
- Delivering whole-class lectures; all teaching occurs in small, targeted groups while students access academic subjects through adaptive apps
- Serving as a reading consultant, teacher coach, or district-level specialist; you work directly with kids in the classroom every day
- Managing a traditional classroom schedule: subject-by-subject lectures, homework checks, test preparation. Your schedule consists of workshops, motivation sessions, and data-informed small groups
- Drafting IEPs, 504 plans, or formal diagnostic reports; student progress is captured in app data and your running records, not special-education documentation
Key responsibilities
Generate measurable K-3 reading improvements across phonics, fluency, and comprehension within a campus environment where outcomes are 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 field, plus 2+ years of full-time K-3 structured reading instruction in a school or clinical environment within the last 5 years, using systematic phonics or structured literacy
- Proven capacity to create your own reading lessons and clearly explain what you teach and how, without depending on a published program
- Commitment 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)
- Willingness to work with all K-3 students (not only those struggling with reading) and incorporate AI and adaptive-learning tools into daily instruction as those tools develop
- Legal authorization to work in the U.S. without visa sponsorship
Nice to have
- Direct experience with AI-powered or adaptive reading platforms (e.g., Amira, Lexia, i-Ready, Reading Plus) for instructional planning or student data interpretation
- Documented reading outcomes (fluency gains in WCPM, accuracy improvements, decoding level progress) you can cite with specific numbers
- Familiarity with diagnostic reading assessments (DRA, DIBELS, AIMSweb) for creating differentiated instructional groups
- Experience in high-accountability educational settings (independent schools, elite charter networks, premium tutoring services with outcome-focused families)
- Background in performance, youth sports coaching, or otherwise engaging a K-3 audience beyond the reading classroom
You will be working for
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