Job Description
• $120,000 annual salary paid weekly, with health, dental, and vision coverage starting on day one
• Full-time on-site at one of Alpha's campuses: 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% in-classroom instruction with K-2 learners
Your structured-literacy certification — 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 defined the limit: you delivered someone else's curriculum and tracked implementation. At Alpha, the credential is only your entry point. If that difference resonates with you, continue reading.
Alpha has redesigned conventional instruction. Students advance through academic content independently using AI-adaptive applications. There are no lectures, no textbooks, and no district pacing guides. Your position represents the irreplaceable human component. You build 20-minute small-group workshops from live app data; brevity is intentional, because targeted instruction outperforms duration. You also facilitate motivation sessions designed to guide 100% of your students toward their weekly app targets using Alpha's motivation framework (campus currency, leaderboards, age-appropriate game mechanics). When you catch a student's miscue during a session, you identify the phonemic deficit and revise tomorrow's workshop before the day ends. That is the expected standard.
Families enrolled at these campuses selected Alpha for measurable results, not merely enrollment. Parents receive weekly data tracking their child's reading development, and they ask pointed questions. You will respond to specific inquiries about individual student progress, and vague reassurances will not suffice. You will 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. 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 effectiveness, your influence expands beyond your classroom: successful methods you develop become models for other Alpha campuses, and your diagnostic precision informs how reading is taught across Alpha's network. Your contributions extend well beyond your immediate environment.
Before we extend an offer, you will submit a short video in which you tell an engaging 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. This is intentional. Apply today.
What You Will Be Doing
• Creating small-group K-2 reading workshops based on real-time adaptive-app data, rooted in structured-literacy approaches (Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, LETRS, IMSE, or equivalent)
• Facilitating daily motivation sessions that drive 100% of your students toward their weekly app targets using Alpha's motivational framework (campus currency, leaderboards, age-appropriate game mechanics)
• Analyzing AI-generated performance data (fluency trajectories, decoding precision, comprehension indicators) to modify instruction during the day, not only during planning periods
• Conducting running records, fluency probes, and decoding assessments to generate improvement visible in weekly campus data reviews
• Serving as the approachable, high-energy adult your K-2 students are excited to see each day
What You Won’t Be Doing
• Implementing a published reading curriculum, scripted lesson plan, or district-mandated pacing guide; you create lessons based on student data
• Delivering whole-class lectures; all instruction occurs in small, targeted groups while students engage with academic subjects through adaptive apps
• Serving as a reading consultant, instructional coach, or district-level specialist; you work in the classroom with students daily
• Managing a conventional classroom schedule: subject-by-subject lectures, homework checks, test preparation. Your schedule includes workshops, motivation sessions, and data-informed small groups
• Drafting IEPs, 504 plans, or formal diagnostic documentation; student progress is captured in app data and your running records, not in special-education forms
Reading Teacher Key Responsibilities
Generate measurable reading growth in K-2 students across phonics, fluency, and comprehension within a campus environment where outcomes 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 past 5 years, utilizing systematic phonics or structured literacy
• Proven capacity to create original reading lessons and clearly explain your instructional content and methods, independent of a published program
• Commitment to full-time in-person 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 work with all K-2 learners (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
• Practical 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 quantify
• Familiarity with diagnostic reading assessments (DRA, DIBELS, AIMSweb) for forming 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 other contexts requiring sustained K-2 audience engagement outside the reading classroom
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-LaJolla-ReadingTeacher