Foundational Reading Skills Elementary Literacy Coach (PRISM Grant) - Districtwide, Salem Public Schools, Salem, MA [SY 2025-2026] chez Salem Public Schools

Foundational Reading Skills Elementary Literacy Coach (PRISM Grant) - Districtwide, Salem Public Schools, Salem, MA [SY 2025-2026]

About Salem Public Schools, where belonging leads to opportunity.

Salem is a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history.  Salem Public Schools is an urban public school district enrolling nearly 4,000 students in 11 schools. Our vision is to ensure that all students will be locally engaged, globally connected, and fully prepared to thrive in a diverse and changing world. We hold dear our core values of belonging, equity, and opportunity in everything we do. We seek individuals who are passionate about urban education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement for all students, regardless of ability, economic status, gender/gender identity, language, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other backgrounds. We invite you to learn more about our strategic plan and core priorities on our website at https://salemk12.org/.

What You’ll Do:

The foundational reading skills instructional coach position is an excellent opportunity for an experienced coach or classroom teacher who possesses special expertise in foundational reading skills instruction that is aligned with the science of reading. The primary goal of the foundational skills instructional coach is to work with classroom teachers and literacy specialists on implementing literacy instruction that promotes fluent word reading and language comprehension and is coherent across all tiers of instruction. This position reports to the Executive Director of Academics and will collaborate closely with the Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, other literacy coaches, and school principals.

Purpose of Position:

• To provide coaching and support to deepen teacher content knowledge on the science of reading 
• Coach for strong implementation of Hill and ECRI routines 
• To promote alignment between Tier 1/2/3 literacy instruction

Essential Attributes:

• Holds an unwavering belief that every student in Salem can grow and succeed
• Skilled in providing equitable access to the curriculum, particularly in underserved populations
• Able to work collaboratively and flexibly as part of a team
• Has a strong work ethic, is self-directed, and has the ability to work independently
• Self-reflects and accepts feedback with a growth mindset

Responsibilities: 

• Uses data and district priorities to inform a weekly schedule
• Works with classroom teachers and reading specialists and interventionists one-on-one and in small groups to internalize lessons from curriculum materials and establish plans to monitor progress on learning
• Responds to trends in data gathered during PRISM checkpoints with individualized, team, and school based support
• Observes and provides feedback on early literacy lessons to classroom teachers, reading specialists, interventionists, and ML teachers
• Monitors progress towards meeting district-wide student achievement goals in the areas of early literacy
• Designs and supports the implementation of a data tracker for monitoring student learning in tier 2 and 3 settings
• Other duties as assigned by the Deputy Superintendent or Academics Department

Note: The evaluation of teachers is not part of the instructional coach’s responsibilities. The instructional coach does provide non-evaluative feedback to teachers.

What You’ll Bring:

We are looking for candidates who have diverse backgrounds and experiences, are inspired by our mission, and are highly motivated to change children’s lives through education. You’ll be right at home here if you are a reflective practitioner who values collaboration with colleagues and pushes yourself, your work, and the people around you to the next level.  We expect our SPS employees to:

• Hold a deep commitment to students and families and value diversity - The SPS community is vibrant, diverse in background, ethnicity, language, and perspective. You embrace and affirm the backgrounds of all members of the SPS community and view our diversity as a powerful resource that supports us each in learning and doing our best work.
• Hold high expectations for yourself, students, and colleagues – You see potential in all, especially our SPS students, and maintain high expectations for achievement, while providing the support necessary to meet that bar. You hold yourself to high expectations, modeling SPS values, and seeking opportunities to continuously improve.
• Build authentic, caring relationships with colleagues, students, and families – You build strong relationships across students, families, and colleagues that are collaborative in nature and contribute to the individual and collective success of SPS.  You partner with families and colleagues to make decisions in the best interest of students and learning.
• Embrace feedback – You are a reflective practitioner who learns from failure, using mistakes and challenges as opportunities for growth. You model persistence and growth mindset and thrive in a culture of feedback.

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree (Required); Master’s Degree (Preferred)
• Required Massachusetts teaching certification/licensure; certification in reading preferred
• Three or more years of successful teaching experience in the early grades
• Experience working in a diverse, urban environment preferred
• Knowledge of and experience using SEI strategies and other approaches to differentiated instruction
• Extensive knowledge of the MA ELA curriculum frameworks and foundational skills routines
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and effectively with teachers
• Experience providing professional development for teachers
• Bilingual candidates and candidates of color strongly encouraged to apply
• Second language (Spanish and/or Portuguese) proficiency a plus
• Current authorization to work in the United States 

Work Year: Salem Public Schools teachers work a 192-day school year (180 student contact days plus 5 professional development days and 7 additional days for Instructional Coaches - to be scheduled in collaboration with supervisor). Please visit www.salemk12.org to view the 2025-26 district and/or school calendar. Continued employment in SY 26-27 is dependent upon the availability of grant funding.

Salary: Per the teacher contract (Instructional Coaches work an additional 7 days and receive a stipend of $3,500 stipend). Teacher salaries in the Salem Public Schools are determined by the Salem Teachers Union collective bargaining agreement.

Benefits: The City of Salem offers all full-time employees Group Insurance Commission (GIC) benefits. Click here for more information about our health benefits.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Salem Public School District is committed to maintaining a work and learning environment free from discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, housing status, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation, genetic information or disability, as defined and required by state and federal laws. Additionally, we prohibit retaliation against individuals who oppose such discrimination and harassment or participate in an equal opportunity investigation.