Literacy Specialist

Organization Overview:
The New Jersey Department of Education is building seven regional offices (RACs) that will lead the state's efforts to accelerate student learning and close the achievement gap. New Jersey's Regional Achievement Centers (RACs), struggling schools, and their districts will partner to set clear goals for student growth, put proven turnaround principles into action, and use data to drive decision-making and accountability. Working together, we will meet our shared goal of closing the achievement gap and preparing all of our students for success in college and career. Of particular importance to the Department is providing high-impact support to the state's lowest-performing schools, to ensure that all students will graduate college and career ready.

Position Overview:
The State Elementary Literacy Specialist will play an essential role in assisting school instructional staff to improve literacy instruction in grades PreK-5. He/she will work with teacher leaders and literacy coaches to focus on the skills necessary for improving literacy instruction in an effort to accelerate student learning. This position requires an experienced literacy educator, who is capable of implementing a system for coaching and monitoring staff to continuously improve instructional practices. The State Elementary Literacy Specialist's primary responsibilities will include delivery of professional development, on-going support and quality feedback to coaches and key teacher leaders, the effective implementation of quality standards-aligned curriculum and assessment system and the identification of effective literacy interventions for grades PreK-5. This is an extraordinary opportunity for a strong educator to share the expertise and knowledge they have gained in an effort to improve education in our state's lowest performing schools.

Responsibilities:

• With regional staff and NJDOE leadership, work closely with target schools to implement high-quality instructional practices to improve literacy instruction
• Ensure the effective implementation of a quality, standards-based curriculum and identify reading interventions across grades PreK - 5Work collaboratively with school leaders and staff to collect, analyze and use data to continuously modify and improve the instructional program Provide professional development through coaching and modeling to increase the number of effective or highly effective teachers in the lowest performing schools

Qualifications:
Education: Graduation from an accredited college or university. Master's degree in Education preferred. English/Language Arts certification required; Reading specialist certification required.

Experience: Minimum three years of instructional experience in PreK-5 literacy with a clear record of student
performance gains; history of effectively coaching both new and experienced teachers preferred; experience supporting teachers in co-teaching/inclusion models; demonstrated mastery of elementary literacy; evidence of driving improvements in student learning; excellent communication skills; ability to analyze data; experience in consensus building; ability to motivate and work in teams to achieve a common goal.