District Literacy Specialist/Administrator
Classification:
Administrator
Reports to:
Assistant Superintendent
Supervises:
Designated by supervisor
Range:
Per administrative agreement
Hours:
8 hours per day
Contract Days:
240 days per year
Position Summary:
The District Literacy Specialist is primarily responsible for supporting and leading high levels of literacy achievement in K-3, in line with the district’s Early Literacy Plan. This position supports the implementation of the literacy adoption across K-12 teams and schools. They will coordinate and provide professional development and ongoing consultation with classroom teachers so that best practices in instruction and assessment are clearly understood and fully embedded as staff maximize the curriculum.
Essential Functions:
1. Lead and promote educational equity focusing on every student becoming a reader in the primary grades.
2. Implement the MTSS model to lead and monitor appropriate supports for student success in literacy.
3. Provide leadership and development of strategies supportive of standards-based education, including regular review of data and student outcomes.
4. Encourage and assist with innovations in instruction and in coordination of the instructional program. Explore strategies to improve literacy skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening) at all levels to meet the needs of every student.
5. Build teacher leadership in the area of literacy at the building level.
6. Collaborate with administrators, teacher leaders, instructional support specialists and instructional coaches to design and implement formative and summative evaluation of the instructional standards.
7. Coordinate and provide staff development activities for all teachers and instructional assistants on literacy topics. Attend professional development for literacy to bring forward emerging best practices. Keep current with state academic content standards, benchmarks, and indicators.
8. Understand bilingual education and biliteracy and support the trajectory of literacy development in students becoming biliterate and bilingual.
9. Support and collaborate with professional learning communities to identify and/or develop formative and summative assessment tools for literacy.
10. Collaborate with the Department of Teaching & Learning in adoption of core and supplementary materials, development of curriculum design, and implementation for K- 12 schools.
11. Provide model teaching lessons or side-by-side coaching as a support to classroom teachers and instructional assistants.
12. Serve as a liaison between elementary, middle, and high school teachers and specialists with regard to curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
13. Explore specific strategies and practices to improve literacy for all students, including English Learners, students experiencing disability, and students identified as TAG.
Administrative Candidates Only:
14. Manage designated grants, including narrative updates and proposals.
15. Directly assist the Assistant Superintendent in setting and monitoring goals related to the Strategic Plan.
16. Work with Student Services and General Education Leadership to mitigate practices and systems that over-identify students for special education services.
17. Supervise and evaluate designated staff.
18. Assure compliance with education laws, rules, regulations, policies and procedures.
General
1. Maintain regular attendance and punctuality.
2. Work effectively with and respond to people from diverse cultures or backgrounds.
3. Follow all District policies, work procedures, and reasonable requests by proper authority.
4. Maintain the integrity of confidential information relating to students, staff, and District patrons.
5. Confer regularly with immediate supervisor.
6. Perform other related duties as assigned.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
1. Ability to exercise some independent judgment while adhering to prescribed policies and procedures and perform the essential functions of the position with minimal supervision.
2. Ability to establish and maintain effective professional relationships and work in partnership with supervisors, other staff, students, and the general public.
3. Ability to establish working relationships with co-workers and function as part of a cohesive team.
4. Ability to demonstrate professionalism in dress, speech and manner appropriate to the assignment and work setting.
Minimum Qualifications:
1. Successful completion of criminal history records check, as required by law.
2. Master’s degree in education or related field.
3. Valid Oregon license appropriate to the assignment with a minimum of five (5) successful years of teaching experience.
4. Background/expertise in early literacy and K-12 literacy.
5. Successful experience effectively leading, supporting, and providing professional development to teachers, support staff, and administrators.
6. Thorough knowledge of the Language Arts State Standards, English Language Proficiency Standards, instructional best practices, and balanced assessment.
7. Effective organizational planning and project management skills, including the ability to handle multiple deadlines and tasks simultaneously.
Preferred Qualifications:
1. Bilingual Spanish.
2. Reading endorsement.
3. Strong lens on educational equity and serving the needs of diverse students.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
The physical demands listed here are representative of those that must be met by an employee
to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be
made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
In an eight (8) hour workday, this job requires:
R – Rarely (Less than .5 hr per day) O – Occasionally (.5-2.5 hrs per day)
F – Frequently (2.5-5.5 hrs per day) C – Continuously (5.5-8 hrs per day)
