2472 Reading Specialist

CLASSIFICATION Exempt

IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR Director, Southwest Regional Professional Development Center (SWRPDC)

MAJOR ADMINISTRATOR Head, Institute for School Improvement

GENERAL FUNCTION

In coordination with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), SWRPDC, and Reading First funded schools, the Reading Specialist supports and assists funded Reading First schools with professional development, coaching, mentoring, advisement, technical assistance, and progress mentoring and assists non-funded buildings in need as time and job duties permit.

MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Education Both a Bachelor’s degree in Education and a Master’s in Reading or a related field is required.

Experience Five years of recent educational experience as a successful primary classroom, special education, ESL, or reading resource teacher is required. Experience organizing and providing professional development in beginning reading is required. Experience teaching and analyzing research-based K-3 reading programs is preferred. Field experience as a staff development provider for elementary schools in scientific reading research is preferred. Experience using assessment data to inform decisions and in communicating results of assessment data to stakeholders including staff, students, parents, and community members is preferred.

Certification Reading Specialist certification is preferred.

Skills Extensive knowledge and application of scientific-based reading research in K-3 are required. An understanding of the importance of using assessment data to inform decisions and drive instructional practice is required. Excellent presentation skills with diverse audiences and/or experience in teaching adults are preferred. Demonstrated skills in teamwork, coaching, and/or mentoring are preferred.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Provides content expertise by providing/facilitating professional development and on-site training for teachers and administrators in Reading First Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in cooperation with district reading coaches and providing training on effective strategies for reading instruction, assessment strategies, and analysis of student data to inform instruction.

2. Provides support by serving as mentor, model, and coach for Reading First teachers and other district personnel involved in the implementation of SBRR, encouraging coaches to participate in professional development related to the 5 components of SBRR, instructional strategies, assessment, etc., offering specialized training for district coaches working with struggling readers, and offering technical assistance to district coaches to coordinate efforts with Title 1, preschool programs, ESL, special education, and other programs that address literacy needs of students.

3. Participate in one’s own professional development sponsored by DESE on topics aligned with scientifically-based reading research (SBRR) and instruction.

4. Assumes joint responsibility for successful implementation of Reading First at the building level for funded districts within the RPDC area by providing expertise in assessment, coaching, mentoring, and flexible grouping and the implications for classroom instruction, providing ongoing support and technical assistance to schools in the implementation of Reading First, working with school administrators to monitor and plan a high quality reading program for the entire school, working with school administrators and coaches to collect, record, and share all data for Reading First activities with the state and U.S. Department of Education, assuring that building coaches provide a minimum of 4 in-classroom coaching or mentoring sessions per month with each k-3 teacher, and organizing monthly meetings with building coaches and providing timely and appropriate professional development to building coaches as needed during the monthly meetings.

5. Remains competent and current through self-directed professional reading, developing professional contacts with colleagues, attending professional development courses, and attending training and/or courses as required by the Director, SWRPDC.

6. Contributes to the overall success of the SWRPDC by performing other duties as assigned.

SUPERVISION

The Reading Specialist is supervised by the Director, SWRPDC.

OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES MARCH 2004

Factor 1: Professional Knowledge, Skill, and Technical Mastery

Level 5 - 3300 Points: Knowledge of the principles and methods of an administrative, managerial, or professional field such as accounting or auditing, financial management, information technology, business administration, human resources, engineering, law, social sciences, communications, education, or medicine. Knowledge permits employee to supervise projects and/or departments using standard methods to improve administrative and/or line operations. Knowledge also permits employee to plan steps and carry out multi-phase projects requiring problem definition and modified techniques, to coordinate work with others, and to modify methods and procedures to solve a wide variety of problems. Knowledge at this level requires a Bachelor's or Master's degree with substantial related work experience, including up to two years of administrative or supervisory experience. Alternatively, this level may require a professional or clinical degree beyond the Bachelor's degree with moderate related work experience; knowledge requirements include significant levels of related work experience.

Factor 2: Supervisory Responsibility

Level 1 - 50 Points: Typically, little, if any, supervision of others is required. The job may require irregular but occasional responsibility to direct the work of student workers and/or temporary or part-time workers. The nature of supervision is largely confined to assigning tasks to others and does not include a full range of supervisory responsibilities. The amount of time spent on directing the work of others is normally a small portion of total work time.

Factor 3: Interactions with Others

Level 4 - 500 Points: Interactions with others are somewhat unstructured. The purpose may be to influence or motivate others, to obtain information, or to control situations and resolve problems. Interactions may be with individuals or groups of co-workers, students, or the general public, may be moderately unstructured, and may involve persons who hold differing goals and objectives. Individuals at this level often act as a liaison between groups with a focus on solving particular unstructured problems. Interactions at this level require considerable interpersonal skill and the ability to resolve conflict.

Factor 4: Job Controls and Guidelines

Level 3 - 500 Points: The employee operates under general supervision expressed in terms of program goals and objectives, priorities, and deadlines. Administrative supervision is given through statements of overall program or project objectives and available resources. Administrative guidelines are relatively comprehensive and the employee need only to fill in gaps in interpretation and adapt established methods to perform recurring activities. In unforeseen situations, the employee must interpret inadequate or incomplete guidelines, develop plans, and initiate new methods to complete assignments based on those interpretations. Assignments are normally related in function, but the work requires many different processes and methods applied to an established administrative or professional field. Problems are typically the result of unusual circumstances, variations in approach, or incomplete or conflicting data. The employee must interpret and refine methods to complete assignments. Characteristic jobs at this level may involve directing single-purpose programs or performing complex, but precedented, technical or professional work.

Factor 5: Managerial Responsibility

Level 3 - 850 Points: Work involves providing significant support services to others both within and outside of the department that substantially influences decision-making processes. Work activities are complex and others rely on the accuracy and reliability of the information, analysis, or advice to make decisions. Work activities have a direct, but shared, impact on further processes or services, affect the overall efficiency and image of the department, and may have material impact on costs or service quality within the cost center. Incumbents may be responsible for identifying areas of need and for developing proposals that request funding to fulfill those needs.