Literacy Specialist

POSITION TITLE: Literacy Specialist and Testing Coordinator

REPORTS TO: Director of Faculty,Teaching and Learning

FLSA: Exempt Status

JOB STATUS: Regular, Part Time 32 hours per week

FTE: .8 FTE/ 10 months

Salary: $44,646

To provide a creative learning environment where students develop a deep sense of place and belonging and work to become engaged stewards of the natural world around them and active citizens within our community.

Our vision is to look beyond classroom walls. We believe that healthy communities are created by engaged, informed and compassionate citizens, and that children learn best when participating in authentic, hands‑on learning experiences that are closely tied to the community. Through service, integrated curriculum and experiential learning, we provide opportunities for our students to actively build relationships locally, inspiring them to become catalysts of change in a global community.

The Cottonwood School believes that the full education of a student depends and relies upon a diverse, equitable, and inclusive school environment. We value all lived experiences and integrate the voices of our school community members, while also inviting insight from our larger community. We apply a culturally responsive approach to our teaching and our decision‑making. We incorporate the histories, perspectives, and experiences of diverse groups of people who are traditionally left out of school curricula.

We are seeking a patient, creative, and passionate Literacy Specialist to support young learners in kindergarten through third grade. The ideal candidate will have experience in primary education and a strong understanding of literacy development and willingness to coach classroom teachers in literacy instruction. This role involves working with students individually or in small group s by using multisensory methods in order to make learning fun, engaging, and interactive and to foster a love of reading.

Additionally, the Literacy Tutor will coordinate and administer benchmark testing to assess students' literacy progress and tailor instruction accordingly. The specialist will also have experience working with struggling readers, students with 504 Plans, students moving towards an evaluation for special ed, and adapting instruction to meet diverse learning needs.

• Provide one‑on‑one or small‑group literacy tutoring to students in grades K–3, focusing on essential skills such as phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension.
• Help students develop foundational reading strategies, including decoding words, understanding letter‑sound relationships, and building reading fluency using structured literacy approaches aligned to the Science of Reading.
• Support students’ writing development by guiding them through sentence structure, basic grammar, spelling, and creative writing.
• Administer and coordinate easyCBM testing to assess student literacy levels in areas such as reading fluency, comprehension, and spelling.
• Use results from easyCBM assessments to guide instruction and track individual student progress over time and communicate to families.
• Screen, identify, and communicate to parents students who show signs of dyslexia using school benchmark systems.
• Collaborate with teachers, administrators, Student Intervention Team (SIT), and parents to provide updates on student progress and suggest ways to support literacy development at home.
• Occasionally attend IEP meeting
• Adapt instructional strategies and materials to meet the needs of students with 504 Plans and IEPs, ensuring that accommodations and modifications are implemented effectively.
• Provide differentiated instruction and additional support for students with learning disabilities, ensuring a supportive and inclusive learning environment.
• Foster a love for reading by introducing students to diverse and age‑appropriate books and materials.
• Create a school wide event to promote reading for all students
• Encourage positive learning habits and self‑confidence in young students.
• Mentor and coaches teachers K‑5 in literacy
• Coach Oregon Battle of the Books for the Cottonwood School…