At Indy Reads, our vision is to make Central Indiana 100% literate. With 1 in 5 Hoosiers reading at or below a sixth-grade ability, our mission to promote and improve the literacy of adults and families in Central Indiana is needed now more than ever! We take a community literacy approach to teaching adult students. Through an innovative social learning model,instructors are supported by a team of volunteer tutors in each dynamic classroom setting offered at partner locations throughout the Indianapolis area.

The Indy Reads program is an opportunity for each student to access comprehensive literacy education from an instructor-led and volunteer tutor-driven team. Using the Indy Reads curriculum, the Instructor will create individualized lesson plans that meet the unique needs of our students. The Instructor will also oversee student progress and lead and develop a team of volunteer tutors who will act as instructional aides. The goal of instruction will be to support individual adult literacy students in making continuous improvements in their reading, writing, language, and critical thinking skills across the disciplines by developing the underlying processes needed to develop these skills. Student progress will be measured using the TABE.

Primary Roles and Responsibilities:

Creating a Comfortable and Positive Learning Community:

1. Establishing a rapport with students
2. Promoting student self-efficacy and growth mindset
3. Evaluating and responding to individual student needs
4. Observing confidentiality of students and program information

Individualization

Lead students in a multi-level classroom (pre-primer to sixth grade): Analyze and select diverse texts from traditional print, digital, and online resources that link to multiple ability levels and multicultural perspectives, and connect to students’ backgrounds, interests, and proficiency levels, for a class of up to 20 students

1. Design in-depth instruction to improve students’ abilities to read and understand varied text, and to spur student interest in more complex reading materials.
2. Coordinate tutors to maximize differentiation: Work with, support, and assist volunteer  tutors in providing engaging 1-1 and small-group sessions.
3. Retain students by ensuring instructional content is relevant to individual specific adult students’ lives and goals.

Relevant, Dynamic Lesson Planning & Instruction

1. Write individualized lesson plans (ILPs).
2. Develop reading and writing instruction that is responsive to the diverse needs, interests and goals of our students, including ability levels.
3. Scaffold instruction to support student needs, such as: gradually increasing the amount of writing instruction students receive (e.g., resume, cover letter, research essay).
4. Use appropriate and varied instructional approaches supported by research for the following areas:
   Comprehension, fluency, critical thinking, motivation, vocabulary, integrated writing, phonological processing development, etc.
5. Administer appropriate assessments to identify, monitor progress, and measure effectiveness of intervention practices and students’ responses to instruction
6. Communicate assessment results and effective strategies to staff in digital platforms

Other Duties

1. Training and Meetings: Plan collaboratively with Instructional Team Lead and other literacy instructors to implement high-leverage reading strategies.  Professional Development workshops will be held quarterly.
2. Meet consistently with Instructional Team Lead and fellow literacy team instructors to strengthen professional teaching knowledge and to stay current with professional literature, including the latest research on promising practices for adult literacy.
3. Uses existing technology effectively in the performance of duties.
4. Performs other work as required.

Job Requirements:

1. Bachelor’s degree in related field required.  Educator license or degree preferred.
2. Minimum two years classroom instruction experience.
3. Experience working with students with learning differences and/or working with adults.
4. Training in the Orton-Gillingham, Lindamood-Bell, Barton or Wilson methods strongly preferred.

To Apply:Please submit a cover letter and resume to Human Resources: hr@indyreads.org. In your cover letter address the following:

Why is the Indy Reads mission important to you and to the Central  Indiana community?
How does your experience make you the ideal candidate for this position?