Phonics and Science of Reading Teacher Trainer

Be the first. Change how America teaches reading. Our first US pilot goes live in Scarsdale, NY this September. Following a positive outcome, we'll be building out the US market with an army of trainers — and you'll be the first. This is your chance to make a big difference to how teachers teach reading: faster, more successfully, and for every child.

About Mrs Wordsmith

Mrs Wordsmith is an education company on a mission to leave no child behind in learning to read. Our Systematic Phonics Program brings decades of UK Science of Reading practice to US schools — and it works: students blend and read their first sentences within three months. The heart of our product is teacher training. Schools don't just buy a curriculum — they buy the capability to teach it, delivered by a Mrs Wordsmith trainer. That trainer is you.

The Role

You'll be trained and certified by our Head of Education, Jo Jackson — a literacy specialist with 20+ years in systematic phonics, including 13 years as a Senior Consultant Trainer on Read Write Inc., the UK's most widely adopted phonics program, where she co-created training content alongside its founder, Ruth Miskin. Jo built her career in exactly the role you're stepping into: mastering a method, carrying it into schools, and transforming how teachers teach reading. Now you'll do the same in the US — first getting trained yourself in September, then opening doors at schools and training their teachers: delivering the training that gets students reading in 90 days.

What You'll Deliver in Schools

• Two training days per school: one upbeat, interactive phonics training day to get teachers ready to teach, followed by a single Readers training day three months later.
• A 20-minute daily lesson model: whole-class phonics instruction teaching one sound a day, four days a week, with one day for review.
• Five-minute top-up lessons: train paraprofessionals as well as classroom teachers so children who need extra support get daily personalized reinforcement.
• Light-touch assessment: weekly one-to-one informal checks (a few minutes per child) plus a formal assessment every 6–8 weeks to spot and address gaps.
• Decodable readers from month three: building fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, expression, and stamina.

Responsibilities

• Get trained, deeply: complete intensive certification with Jo until you can deliver both training days to standard — and love doing it.
• Open doors: identify and pursue schools and districts — principals, literacy directors, Special Education Directors, and curriculum leads. Make the economic case: our training costs $300 per teacher, one time, versus $30,000 per pupil per year in special education provision or $10,000–25,000 in high-frequency tutoring.
• Win pilots: present the program, run demos, navigate school decision-making, and convert interest into signed agreements.
• Train teachers: deliver energetic, practical, and genuinely fun training days that leave teachers ready to teach on Monday morning.
• Support implementation: check in with schools, review assessment data with teachers on a 6–8 week cadence, troubleshoot, and turn early wins into case studies and referrals.
• Grow with us: as the US market develops, help recruit, train, and certify future trainers.

Requirements

• 5+ years of US elementary classroom teaching, reading intervention, or literacy coaching experience.
• Deep, practical knowledge of systematic phonics and the Science of Reading (LETRS, Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, Fundations, or equivalent training a strong plus).
• Experience delivering professional development or training to adults — and the presence to hold a room of skeptical teachers.
• Genuine appetite for outreach: energized by prospecting, pitching, and asking for the pilot.
• Self-direction: you'll be our first US trainer, building your own pipeline and calendar.
• Willingness to travel regularly to schools; based within practical reach of the Northeast a plus (our first pilot is in Scarsdale, NY).
• US work authorization.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience selling into schools or districts (edtech, curriculum, PD services).
• Familiarity with special education frameworks (IDEA, IEPs, RTI/MTSS) and Title I funding.
• An existing network among district literacy or special education leaders.
• Experience supporting English Language Learners.

Why This Role

• Be first: not joining a training team — founding one.
• Sell something honest: two days of training, $100–$350 per teacher, kids reading in 90 days. The results are visible fast, and the comparison with incumbents ($1,000–$1,500 for LETRS, up to $5,000 for Orton-Gillingham) speaks for itself.
• Learn from the best: direct certification and mentorship from a program designer who trained over 100 schools and co-wrote training content with the pioneers of UK systematic phonics.
• A career path with precedent: Jo went from classroom teacher to national consultant trainer to Head of Education. This role is the first rung of that ladder in the US.