Job Title: Meridian - Reading Specialist 19-20
Date Posted: 7/25/2019
Job Function: Teachers
Grade Level: Elementary/Middle School
Job Type: Full-Time
Start Date:

ABOUT MERIDIAN PCS
Meridian is a PreK-8th grade school located in the Washington DC's vibrant U Street Corridor. Our 650+ students are a diverse mix of African-American, Latino, Asian, African, and White students. Almost 30% of our students are English language learners, and we have one of the largest Hispanic populations in DC charter schools. Meridian is committed to serving our local community, and one-third of our students live within a half mile of the school. We are also proud of the fact that Meridian is a school of choice for parents— all eight wards of the city are represented among our student population.

Meridian's strengths include a beautiful main campus, with nearby outdoor and recreational grounds; state of the art technology for students and teachers; updated and aligned curricula; an academic program laser-focused on student growth, achievement, and social-emotional development; extensive professional development and support for teachers and leaders; and a school culture grounded in student achievement and support.
In 2015, Meridian launched a comprehensive and intensive school improvement initiative. Since then, the school has seen steady, sustained gains in student learning and achievement including:

• A 17.6 point gain to a 59.4 on the DC Public Charter School Board's 100-point Performance Management Framework (PMF). This increase is the among the highest PMF score increase during this two-year period for all PS-8 charter schools. Now, Meridian is on the cusp of becoming a Tier 1 school.
• Two out of three students at Meridian improved their math and reading scores faster than their peers across the District of Columbia and nationally.

Join us as we continue to take Meridian from good to great! For additional information about Meridian visit mpcs-dc.org.

ABOUT THE POSITION
The Reading Specialist is a master teacher of small group intervention instruction. The focus of the specialist is to implement a student-centered system of intervention that effectively works to close the gaps in English Language Arts. The goal of the specialist is to support the RTI program and prevent students from being placed in other support services as well as support accelerated learners to ensure they are achieving and learning at the highest levels.

The Reading Specialist is a student and teacher facing role. The Reading Specialist works alongside teachers providing resources, instructional supports, and technical assistance so they can best support specific students.

Energetic, enthusiastic for reading, and with deep ELA content knowledge, the ideal candidate will be unequivocally determined to improve student achievement with a proven track record of raising student outcomes.

Primary job responsibilities include:

• Provides and delivers focused reading intervention instruction to students in small groups and one-on-one settings through push-in and pullout for the purpose of improving student outcomes and achievement;
• Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of ELA instruction and reading interventions;
• Serves as a content specialist to assist in the development and implementation of ELA instruction;
• Understands and interprets assessment data, both formal and informal, to inform instructional decisions and flexible student grouping;
• Facilitate data meetings in a high level data environment ensuring that both students and teachers understand their data and are constantly progressing towards goal;
• Ensures that instructional decisions are based on analysis of student level data;
• Designs effective intervention lessons to deliver to students;
• Frequently monitors progress of students receiving intervention services in order to adjust instructional practice and student grouping;
• Communicates and collaborates with classroom teachers about alignment between classroom instruction and intervention;
• Collaborates with the Principal and Instructional Coaches as required to provide curriculum implementation guidance to teachers;
• Participates as a member of the school data team;
• Establishes and maintains good rapport with students, employees, community members and vendors;
• Maintains a high level of ethical behavior and confidentiality; and,
• Other job-related duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS
An ideal candidate possesses the following education and experience:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university with a focus on English, literacy, or reading instruction. Advanced degree in education preferred;
• A minimum of three years of effective ELA instruction in K-12 setting with proven academic outcome results;
• Strong content knowledge in ELA and Common Core ELA standards;
• Demonstrated results in improving student outcomes and achievement in ELA or reading;
• Demonstrated competencies in the areas of instructional strategies, classroom management, learning assessment and diagnostics and research related to student learning and pedagogy;
• Extensive knowledge in ELA curriculum and support resources including technology-based activities that assist and facilitate student progress and web-based activities; and,
• Ability to communicate effectively with students, school personnel, and parents; and an ability to work cooperatively with others.
• Ability to set goals with students and motivate the students to reach their goals.

HOW TO APPLY
Do you embody a love of learning? Do you believe in the importance of educating the whole child? Do you want to help Meridian continue to grow from good to great?

Apply today to the Reading Specialist position!

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin or ancestry, marital status, veteran's status, or any other factor, which would constitute a violation of the D.C. Human Rights Act or other applicable laws or court order.