Reading Specialist

Qualifications

• Hold or be eligible to hold appropriate Ohio licensure that permits reading instruction in grades 7-12, including one or more of the following: Ohio licensure in ELA 7-12, Reading Endorsement K-12, Intervention Specialist K-12, or any other valid Ohio teaching license appropriate for providing reading instruction/intervention to students in grades 7-12

Essential Responsibilities

• Provide explicit, systematic reading intervention to students in grades 7-12 during scheduled class periods at both Cambridge Middle School and Cambridge High School
• Deliver instruction using the district-adopted reading intervention curriculum with fidelity
• Teach foundational and applied literacy skills, including phonemic awareness, phonics/decoding, morphology, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension
• Build strong, supportive relationships with adolescent learners and create a classroom environment that promotes confidence, engagement, and persistence
• Use screening, diagnostic, and progress-monitoring data to identify student needs, group students appropriately, monitor growth, and adjust instruction
• Participate in MTSS processes and collaborate with teachers, intervention teams, and administrators to support student success
• Attend and contribute to data meetings, intervention planning meetings, and problem-solving discussions
• Communicate with parents and caregivers regarding student progress, goals, and support strategies
• Collaborate with content-area teachers to support students’ access to grade-level curriculum and strengthen literacy across disciplines
• Collaborate with special education staff, intervention staff, and 504/IEP teams as needed to support student learning
• Maintain accurate records related to student intervention, attendance, progress, and course performance
• Teach a credit-bearing reading course at the high school level
• Travel between the middle school and high school during the workday; both buildings are located on the same campus
• Participate in required summer training and ongoing professional learning related to adolescent literacy and district programming

Desired Knowledge, Skills, And Dispositions

• Strong knowledge of the Science of Reading
• Understanding of how to support older struggling readers, including students with significant foundational skill gaps
• Ability to analyze student data and use it to drive instructional decisions
• Ability to motivate and support adolescents who may have experienced repeated difficulty with reading
• Strong collaboration and communication skills
• Ability to work effectively with general education teachers, special education staff, administrators, and families
• Strong classroom management and organizational skills
• Commitment to helping students improve literacy outcomes and gain access to grade-level content

Helpful Background Or Experience

• Training in structured literacy, Orton-Gillingham, or similar evidence-based practices
• Experience providing reading intervention to secondary students
• Experience using reading diagnostic assessments and progress-monitoring tools
• Experience teaching morphology, multisyllabic word reading, vocabulary, and comprehension to adolescent learners
• Experience supporting students with disabilities and students with significant reading deficits