Literacy Specialist, Alpha - $120,000/year USD

• On-site at an Alpha school in Lake Forest CA, Palo Alto CA, Piedmont CA, San Francisco CA, Santa Monica CA, Greenwich CT, Chicago IL, Boston MA, New York City NY, or Chantilly VA (relocation assistance available)
• $120,000 annual salary, paid weekly. Full health, dental, and vision coverage from day one
• Daily integration of AI-powered tools and adaptive learning technologies
  
  

You know that 20 minutes of precision-targeted reading instruction outperforms 90 minutes of scripted lessons, and you have the student outcomes to back it up. You've seen children break through phonics plateaus because you identified the specific gap yourself, not because a program dictated the next lesson. If building your own curriculum from live student data feels like opportunity rather than burden, this role is for you.

At Alpha, reading instruction operates on one core principle: every minute counts. Your workshops consist of 20-minute sessions designed around each student's actual needs, not what a standardized pacing guide prescribes. You'll evaluate reading levels, create targeted groups, and deliver high-impact structured literacy instruction (phonics, fluency, comprehension) to students aged 4-7 that produces measurable weekly progress. AI-powered adaptive technologies work alongside you, generating performance data you'll use to modify tomorrow's lesson before today's session concludes.

This position evolves. During year one, you're immersed in classroom work: facilitating workshops, leading motivational sessions that transform reluctant readers into enthusiastic ones, and providing detailed observations to the technology team refining Alpha's AI literacy tools. As these tools scale and your input shapes them, your expertise reaches beyond your own classroom. You'll help develop a reading program that functions across multiple campuses, converting what you accomplish with 15 students into a system that impacts hundreds.

If you've dedicated your career to demonstrating that structured literacy delivers results and you're prepared to combine that expertise with technology that multiplies it, this is where your influence extends beyond your classroom walls.

What You Will Be Doing

• Creating and facilitating 20-minute reading workshops based on your own diagnostic assessments of each student's reading level and skill gaps
• Leveraging AI-generated student performance data to modify groupings and lesson priorities between sessions, not only during quarterly reviews
• Facilitating motivational sessions that develop intrinsic reading motivation, incorporating age-appropriate gamification and individual goal-setting with K-2 students
• Evaluating and testing AI literacy tools during live workshops, then delivering structured feedback to the technology team regarding effectiveness and areas for improvement
• Monitoring measurable outcomes (fluency gains, decoding level advancement, accuracy improvement) and applying them to refine your instructional approach weekly
  
  

What You Won’t Be Doing

• Implementing a scripted or packaged reading program. You identify needs and create instruction independently.
• Conducting 60-90 minute lecture-style literacy blocks. Sessions are brief, targeted, and high-intensity.
• Working exclusively with struggling readers. You'll teach all K-2 students across varied reading levels.
• Working separately from technology. AI adaptive tools are integrated into your daily workflow, not an occasional supplement.
• Waiting for quarterly data reviews to modify your methods. You make adjustments in real time based on current data.
  
  

Literacy Specialist Key Responsibilities

Advance early elementary students to grade-level reading proficiency through adaptive, AI-enhanced structured literacy instruction.

Basic Requirements

• Bachelor's degree (any subject)
• Master's in reading instruction OR structured literacy certification (Orton-Gillingham, Wilson Reading System, IMSE, CERI, LETRS, Neuhaus, UFLI, or equivalent)
• 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
• Ability to design your own reading lessons and clearly describe what you teach and how, without relying on a published program
• Willingness to work in-person at an Alpha campus (Lake Forest CA, Palo Alto CA, Piedmont CA, San Francisco CA, Santa Monica CA, Greenwich CT, Chicago IL, Boston MA, New York City NY, or Chantilly VA; relocation support provided)
• Willingness to use AI and adaptive learning tools daily and adapt as tools evolve
• Legally authorized to work in the U.S. without visa sponsorship
  
  

About Alpha

Want to join a learning rebellion that’s transforming the traditional classroom?

Alpha School is on a mission to reshape education with a bold approach that harnesses AI to accelerate learning and unleash student potential.

They don’t play by the old rules.

Alpha is creating a new paradigm where students master core academics in just two hours a day, freeing up time for hands-on, passion-driven learning that truly prepares them for the real world.

Alpha School is rewriting the rules of education.

Sounds too good to be true? It’s not.

There is so much to cover for this exciting role, and space here is limited. Hit the Apply button if you found this interesting and want to learn more. We look forward to meeting you!

Working with us

This is a full-time (40 hours per week), long-term position. The position is immediately available and requires entering into an independent contractor agreement with Crossover as a Contractor of Record. The compensation level for this role is $60 USD/hour, which equates to $120,000 USD/year assuming 40 hours per week and 50 weeks per year. The payment period is weekly. Consult www.crossover.com/help-and-faqs for more details on this topic.

Crossover Job Code: LJ-5632-US-Austin-LiteracySpecia.008