Reading Specialist (SY22-23)

Reading Specialist (SY22-23)

Grade Level: Elementary School

Start Date: August 2022

Locations: UP Academy Dorchester

About UP Education Network

UP Education Network operates five schools in Boston and Lawrence, MA, and serves more than 2,500 elementary and middle school students. UP is invited by local school districts to restart chronically underperforming district schools as UP Academies. Each UP Academy shares the same mission: to ensure that students acquire the knowledge, skills, and strength of character necessary to succeed on the path to college and to achieve their full potential.

Teaching at UP Education Network

The Reading Specialist is a full-time member of the school staff. All full time staff members have regular duties in the course of the day that may include lunch duty, arrival and dismissal duty, recess duty and or hallway coverage. UP Academy teachers work with a team of diverse colleagues to develop rigorous curricula, deliver engaging lessons, and support all students on the path to and through college.

Desired Skills and Characteristics of an UP Teacher

• A deep desire to work with educationally underserved student populations and their families
• An unwavering commitment to the academic success and personal development of our students
• An eagerness to set ambitious, challenging, and tangible goals, and a relentless drive to achieve them
• A capacity to remain calm and focused when faced with unexpected challenges

Specifics of the Role

• Work closely with the principal and instructional deans to swiftly increase reading growth in the elementary grades and ensure that all students in K1-4 are reading at or above grade level
• Engage in regular analysis of and action planning based on elementary literacy data using the school’s assessment suite
• Using data, deliver individualized reading instruction to small groups of students who require reading intervention; create lesson plans and use proven research-based materials and methods to rapidly increase reading skills for students receiving interventions
• Collaborate with the instructional deans and principal to deliver coaching and professional development to elementary staff on reading instruction
• Advise middle school reading interventionist on their work with grades 5-8, as needed

Qualifications

• A strong belief in UP Education Network’s mission, vision, and core values: Students, Community, Humility, Resilience, and Humor
• Consistent track record (at least two years) of success accelerating reading growth for the most struggling readers
• Bachelor’s degree is required, Master’s degree in language and literacy instruction is also required for the Reading Specialist license.
• A valid Massachusetts Teaching License in Reading, All Levels (Note: This license requires a specific Master’s degree.)
• Wilson Reading Systems (WRS) Level 1Certification required by start date.
• Current authorization to work in the United States – A candidate must have such authorization by his or her first day of employment

Compensation and Benefits

UP Academy follows the salary scales and salary placement policies of each UP Academy’s host school district or state turnaround plan; please see the relevant union’s collective bargaining agreement for additional details. As an employee of UP Academy and your respective school district, you will receive the same access to personal and sick days, health insurance, and dental insurance as others within your union.

Working at UP Education Network

We know that great staff members directly lead to the success of our students. At UP, your career is shaped by:

• Opportunities for immediate impact: UP offers a chance to bring best practices found in high-performing schools to students previously enrolled in struggling schools, and to rapidly unlock the potential of these students
• Talented, mission-driven colleagues: Our staff is enthusiastic, dedicated, and willing to do “whatever it takes” to put every student on the path to college
• Collaboration and teamwork: Staff members collaborate and work closely together on grade-level or content area teams, using data to track student performance as well as guide instructional practice
• Consistent professional growth and development: Members of our staff typically have bi-weekly check-in meetings with their managers where they receive targeted coaching and support. The entire staff participates in weekly professional development sessions during the school year, kick-started by extensive training in August.

As an equal opportunity employer, UP does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, ability, age, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin and we encourage applicants of all backgrounds to apply. Our students must be exposed to a diverse group of powerful role models - in their teachers, their school leaders, and their supporters in the network office. With this in mind, we are committed to recruiting the most talented individuals from the widest possible range of backgrounds to join our creative, mission-driven team.