Reading Coach, Alpha - $120,000/year USD

Crossover; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 102,000 - 138,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Health benefits

Job summary

Alpha reimagines the school day with faster learning and mentorship, using AI-adaptive apps to drive progress. As a Reading Coach, you will create 20-minute small-group workshops, guided by real-time app data, and lead motivation sessions to push weekly targets.

You’ll analyze performance data, adjust instruction mid-day, and document gains in weekly campus reviews, while maintaining energetic engagement with students and families.

Qualifications

• Structured-literacy certification OR Master's in reading instruction required.
• Bachelor's degree plus 2+ years K-2 structured reading instruction in last 5 years.
• Ability to design lessons from data, not a published program.
• Willingness to work full-time on-site at Alpha campuses.

Responsibilities

• Create small-group K-2 reading workshops informed by live adaptive-app data.
• Lead daily motivation sessions to reach weekly app targets.
• Analyze AI-generated performance data to adjust instruction mid-day.
• Conduct running records, fluency probes, and decoding assessments.
• Be the approachable, engaging adult for K-2 students.

Skills

Structured-literacy certification

AI-powered reading platforms

Education

Master's degree in reading instruction

Bachelor's degree (any field)

Tools

AI-powered reading platforms

Job description

• $120,000 annual salary paid weekly, plus day-one health, dental, and vision coverage
• Full-time on-site at a single 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)
• 40 hours per week, 100% classroom-based work with K-2 students

Your structured-literacy credential — Orton-Gillingham, LETRS, Wilson, IMSE, or a Master's in reading instruction — has opened the door to every K-2 reading position you've pursued. In most settings, that credential also marked the limit: you delivered someone else's curriculum and documented the results. At Alpha, the credential is your entry point. If that difference resonates with you, continue reading.

Alpha has redesigned traditional teaching. Students advance through academic content independently using AI-adaptive applications. No lectures, no textbooks, no district pacing calendars. Your role represents the one area where human expertise cannot be replaced. You create 20-minute small-group workshops informed by real-time app data; sessions are intentionally brief, because targeted instruction outperforms duration. You also facilitate motivation sessions that guide 100% of your students toward their weekly app targets using Alpha's motivational framework (campus currency, leaderboards, developmentally appropriate gamification). You catch a student's reading error mid-session, identify the phonemic weakness, and revise tomorrow's workshop before the day ends. That is the expectation.

Families enrolled at these campuses have selected Alpha for measurable results, not mere enrollment. Parents review weekly data tracking their child's reading progress and they expect clarity. You will face specific questions about individual student advancement, and generic reassurances will not suffice. You will need to reference the running record, identify the phonemic deficit, 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 and "love your Guide" survey scores (target 90%+) provide direct feedback. Once you prove your impact, your influence grows beyond your classroom: successful strategies from your students become models replicated across other Alpha campuses, and your diagnostic precision informs how reading instruction evolves as Alpha expands. Your work extends beyond your immediate environment.

Before hiring, you will submit a short video presenting an engaging story for young children, and you will complete a full on-campus day working directly with K-2 students. Low energy with children disqualifies candidates, regardless of credential strength. This is intentional.

What You Will Be Doing

• Creating small-group K-2 reading workshops informed by live adaptive-app data, rooted in structured-literacy approaches (Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, LETRS, IMSE, or equivalent)
• Leading daily motivation sessions that ensure 100% of your students reach their weekly app targets using Alpha's motivational framework (campus currency, leaderboards, age-appropriate gamification)
• Analyzing AI-generated performance data (fluency trajectories, decoding precision, comprehension indicators) to modify instruction mid-day, not only during planning periods
• Conducting running records, fluency probes, and decoding assessments to generate gains documented in weekly campus data reviews
• Serving as the approachable, dynamic adult your K-2 students anticipate interacting with daily

What You Won’t Be Doing

• Implementing a published reading curriculum, scripted program, or district pacing calendar; you construct lessons from student data
• Delivering lectures to full classrooms; all teaching occurs in small, targeted groups while students complete academic subjects through adaptive apps
• Serving as a reading consultant, teacher coach, or district-level specialist; you are classroom-based with children every day
• Managing a conventional classroom schedule: subject-by-subject lectures, homework correction, test preparation. Your scheduled time consists of workshops, motivation sessions, and data-informed small groups instead
• Drafting IEPs, 504 plans, or formal diagnostic documentation; student advancement is tracked through app data and your running records, not special-education paperwork

Reading Coach Key Responsibilities

Generate measurable K-2 reading progress across phonics, fluency, and comprehension within a campus culture where results are assessed weekly.

Basic 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 within the last 5 years, utilizing systematic phonics or structured literacy
• Proven capacity to design your own reading lessons and clearly explain what you teach and how, 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)
• Willingness to instruct all K-2 students (not exclusively struggling readers) and incorporate AI and adaptive-learning technologies into daily teaching as these tools advance
• Legal authorization to work in the U.S. without visa sponsorship

Nice-to-have Requirements

• 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 improvement, decoding level progression) 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 with families who closely monitor outcomes)
• Background in performance, youth sports coaching, or otherwise engaging a K-2 audience outside traditional reading instruction

About Alpha

Alpha reimagines the school day around faster learning, stronger mentorship, and more time for students to build real-world skills.

Alpha hires teachers (guides), operators, admissions experts, school & curriculum leaders, and remote team members.

Alpha offers six-figure roles for people ready to help build a radically better school experience.

A culture built for builders: Alpha is fast-moving, ambitious, and student focused. It's for people who want to improve the system, not maintain it.

Alpha is where you can do the most meaningful work of your career.

Working with us

This is a full-time, W2 employee position with immediate access to benefits (https://support.crossover.com/article/7581-w2-benefits-u-s-paychex-paid-only). All roles are year-long positions. The compensation level for this role is $120,000 USD/year. The payment period is weekly. Consult www.crossover.com/help-and-faqs for more details on this topic.