Early Literacy Specialist, Alpha - $120,000/year USD

• Based in New York City, NY – fully onsite
• $120,000 annual salary, paid weekly. Health, dental, and vision coverage begins on day one.
• Relocating? We provide relocation assistance.

Do you believe authentic learning begins with joy, movement, and a foundation of trust?

Alpha School is redefining education—helping children achieve academic mastery quickly so they can dedicate more time to developing essential life skills. In Pre-K, this begins with something even more foundational: emotional security, curiosity, and the resilience to keep trying.

Your role: lead an in-person Pre-K cohort in NYC that develops a love of learning while demonstrating accelerated early-learning outcomes—approximately 2x the growth seen in traditional preschool settings. You'll create purposeful, sensory-rich play experiences that integrate developmental milestones, then track progress each week and adapt rapidly for every child.

NYC offers: Parks ideal for outdoor learning, vibrant neighborhoods with engaged family communities, exceptional public transit, and access to leading-edge early childhood networks.

Foster joy. Drive growth. Apply today.

What You Will Be Doing

• Plan and lead 30–60 minute play-based learning experiences that cultivate joy, emotional security, and quantifiable developmental progress
• Build a classroom environment rich in movement and sensory input that sustains engagement and enables four-year-olds to learn through diverse modalities
• Observe and record in the moment: Take same-day, objective notes aligned with developmental domains, then refresh each child's milestone tracker weekly
• Let data inform your teaching: Review weekly records to pinpoint each child's next developmental edge and design targeted learning responses
• Craft individualized, interest-driven activity modifications for each child, embedding one focused developmental objective, and reassess impact within two weeks
• Support children through frustration using calm co-regulation and emotional scaffolding instead of reactive behavior management
• Share student progress, daily routines, and developing concerns with families in a clear and proactive manner

What You Won’t Be Doing

• Approach Pre-K as custodial care instead of purposeful early education
• Default to scripted worksheets or compliance-focused instruction methods
• Spend the majority of your day overseeing academic apps rather than facilitating live, tactile learning
• Apply reactive behavior management instead of calm co-regulation and emotional coaching

Early Literacy Specialist Key Responsibilities

Ensure NYC Pre-K students develop a love of school while showing accelerated early-learning growth through purposeful play.

Basic Requirements

• Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education or Child Development, OR CDA/Montessori/Reggio credential
• At least 2 years of experience working with 3–5-year-olds in a structured group environment (classroom setting, not exclusively one-on-one care)
• Proven track record facilitating play-based learning that produces visible developmental progress
• Demonstrated capacity to record developmental milestones objectively and reliably on a weekly schedule using a structured framework or rubric
• Strong relationship-building and emotional awareness: Capacity to establish trust rapidly, interpret emotional signals precisely, and leverage individualized motivators to drive engagement
• Co-regulation and frustration support: Lead children through emotional challenges using calm modeling and structured emotional guidance
• Authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship
• Available to work full-time on-site in New York City, NY

About Alpha

Want to join a learning rebellion that’s transforming the traditional classroom?

Alpha School is on a mission to reshape education with a bold approach that harnesses AI to accelerate learning and unleash student potential.

They don’t play by the old rules.

Alpha is creating a new paradigm where students master core academics in just two hours a day, freeing up time for hands-on, passion-driven learning that truly prepares them for the real world.

Alpha School is rewriting the rules of education.

Sounds too good to be true? It’s not.

There is so much to cover for this exciting role, and space here is limited. Hit the Apply button if you found this interesting and want to learn more. We look forward to meeting you!

Working with us

This is a full-time (40 hours per week), long-term position. The position is immediately available and requires entering into an independent contractor agreement with Crossover as a Contractor of Record. The compensation level for this role is $60 USD/hour, which equates to $120,000 USD/year assuming 40 hours per week and 50 weeks per year. The payment period is weekly. Consult www.crossover.com/help-and-faqs for more details on this topic.

Crossover Job Code: LJ-5746-US-Alexandr-EarlyLiteracyS