School Based State Literacy Coaches

State of Maryland • Annapolis, MD

23h • $47 - $53

About The Position

The Maryland State Department of Education is dedicated to supporting a world-class educational system that prepares all students for college and career success in the 21st century. With excellent stewardship from our divisions, we oversee State and federal programs that support the needs of a diverse population – students, teachers, principals, and other educators throughout Maryland. These School-Based Literacy Coach positions will serve a critical role in improving K-3 reading achievement by providing non-evaluative, job-embedded instructional coaching grounded in the Science of Reading using high-quality instructional materials (HQIM). The Literacy Coaches will be responsible for supporting the implementation of evidence-based practices and the internalization of HQIM. The Literacy Coaches support the implementation of Maryland's Comprehensive PreK-3 Policy by promoting coherent literacy instruction across grade levels, strengthening Tier I reading instruction, and help teachers to internalize units and lessons aligned to evidence-based literacy practices. Finally, these positions will advance the Maryland State Department of Education Strategic Plan, Objective 3 by leading improvements in early literacy proficiency through recurring coaching cycles, targeted feedback, data-driven instructional decision making, and professional learning aligned to state literacy priorities.

Requirements

• A Master’s degree or the equivalent of 36 credit hours of post-baccalaureate course work from an accredited college or university.
• Four years of administrative or teaching experience in, or affiliated with Literacy, Reading and/or related programs in prekindergarten through 12 settings.
• Applicants must consent to State and FBI (CJIS) background check as a routine procedure for all employees.
• This position requires travel throughout the State of Maryland and throughout designated Counties to support teachers within individual school(s) and oversee the effective implementation of Literacy initiatives

Nice To Haves

• Active teacher certification in any state with experience as a classroom teacher.
• Experience supervising and/or coaching professional education staff.
• Experience with the Science of Reading, Structured Literacy, associated HQIM and PreK-3 learning theory and various approaches to instructional coaching.
• Experience working with K-3 reading achievement and Maryland's Comprehensive PreK-3 Policy
• Experience implementing curriculum and evidence-based instructional practices in English Language Arts and literacy.
• Experience with high impact coaching methods and developing and facilitating professional learning focused on research-based practices and evidence-based interventions including professional learning cycles and the MSDE coaching model.
• Experience delivering data-driven literacy instruction that meets the needs of diverse learners.

Responsibilities

• Lead teachers through individual literacy coaching cycles.
• Provides non-evaluative, job-embedded coaching to strengthen reading instruction aligned to the Science of Reading and Maryland's Comprehensive PreK-3 Policy (i.e., writing SRIPs, delivering screeners, etc.).
• Supports teachers in delivering systematic, explicit foundational skills instruction including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
• Models structured literacy practices through co-teaching, lesson modeling, and elbow coaching and conducts observations focused on reading instruction and provide targeted, literacy specific feedback.
• Guides and supports teachers in implementing high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) for reading and in administering and interpreting early literacy screeners and diagnostics to select appropriate interventions.
• Delivers professional learning aligned to the Science of Reading, structured literacy, and HQIM implementation.
• Provides training for teachers on using literacy assessment data to make instructional decisions within an MTSS literacy framework and facilitates professional learning on evidence-based interventions, structured literacy instruction, academic routines and procedures, text complexity, and metacognition.
• Builds teacher capacity to deliver coherent literacy instruction across grade-levels aligned to Maryland's Comprehensive PreK-3 policy, the Ready to Read Act, and COMAR 13A.03.08 Students At-Risk for Reading Difficulty.

Benefits

• STATE OF MARYLAND BENEFITS (only if hired as MSDE Contract) -OR- Benefits will be provided by the selected applicant’s current employing Local School System.

What This Job Offers

• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees