Tutor Educator January 2026 Cohort

Today, 67% of students and 82% of low-income students can’t read at grade level by the end of third grade. That’s when students are supposed to go from learning to read to reading to learn. It’s America’s number one education crisis and we know how to fix it.

Ignite Reading delivers one-to-one virtual tutoring that teaches every student the foundational skills they need to become a confident, fluent reader. We pair students who need extra support with expert reading tutors who provide daily, 15-minute, Science of Reading-based instruction that rapidly closes their decoding gaps. We focus on the foundational reading skills—phonics, phonemic awareness, and sight words—kids need to master so they can decode a sentence. Students in Ignite Reading’s program achieve over 2 weeks of reading skills growth per week of instruction, and notably all students achieve the same outstanding results including students with IEPs, multilingual learners, students of color and those receiving free or reduced-price lunch.

Ignite Reading is a mission-driven public benefit corporation. We believe we can do well for our team members and shareholders while we solve one of the nation’s biggest challenges. We believe we will be more successful with a diverse team and are seeking candidates who have lived experience related to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Program Description

Ignite Reading is hiring Tutor Educators to join our certification program and tutor Ignite students throughout the academic year.

Our Tutor Educators lead daily, one-on-one, 15-minute virtual tutoring sessions with the same students 5 days a week, focused on the foundational reading skills. Please note that we are unable to consider applicants who live in California, Illinois, Iowa, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, or the District of Columbia.

Currently, we are seeking tutors available from 8:00 a.m. to noon ET, but we encourage all individuals who can serve students from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET to apply.

Through our PAID training course in the Science of Reading Instruction, our Tutor Educators master instructional skills and teaching best practices grounded in research and complete the course with a provisional Ignite Reading certification.

Ignite Tutor Educators MUST

Complete a 7-week certification course.

Commit to a minimum of 3 hours of consistent daily availability to provide high-quality, high-dosage tutoring to students.

Successful applicants must be able to:

• Navigate virtual platforms and personal computer hardware and software.

• Positively receive and then implement feedback.

• Cultivate trusting, meaningful relationships with students and your peers

• Focus on outcomes and student learning with high attention to detail.

• Complete and meet deadlines for all ongoing coursework

• Approach each day of tutoring excited to work with students and hold our promises to them sacred!

• Practice empathy and understanding, hold high expectations for their students, and never ever give up on them.

• Arrive on time for all tutoring sessions and maintain strong attendance. Fulfill all duties associated with your role while representing the Ignite Reading program with the highest degree of professionalism.

• Deliver Ignite Reading’s curriculum with fidelity and record student data.

• Meet performance standards for attendance, punctuality, instruction, and student growth and learning.

Tutors are paid $17.50/per hour while you are successfully completing your certification course. Once certified, tutors begin earning $20/per hour.

We strongly encourage bilingual individuals who speak Spanish to apply for the position of Tutor Educator.

Before you apply, please read the requirements below very carefully to understand the time commitments we expect of tutors.

Certification Process:

We require that hired tutors complete a 7-week certification course that includes 2 weeks of tutoring (concurrent with training), during which you will tutor approximately 4 -10 students. Below is a description of the time required for the certification class and the practicum.

Certification Class:

• Successful applicants must complete our certification course.

• Training runs Monday - Friday, 5 days a week, for the entirety of the certification course.

• Tutors join learning groups based on their availability. Tutors will either be assigned to these based on provided availability or be able to choose from a small window of options.

• Tutors commit to 3-hour classes daily for the first 3 weeks and 2-hour classes daily, plus a minimum of 1 hour of tutoring daily in what we call “practicum” for the remaining 2 weeks of the course.

• The certification consists of alternating synchronous, live sessions led by an Ignite Reading staff member, asynchronous learning experiences, and online virtual courses you complete independently. For example, tutors will be in live synchronous classes up to 3 days a week and complete asynchronous learning 2 days a week. Attendance at live courses and meeting deadlines for asynchronous courses is mandatory for the entirety of the course.

Practicum: After you have completed the first 3 weeks of the certification course, your class time will be reduced to two hours a day. To successfully complete your practicum, you must provide a minimum of 3 hours a day of availability between 8:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET. This availability can coincide with your training for certification. This provides us with adequate options for scheduling your students five days a week at the same times each day. You may choose the tutoring times you are available.

You must meet these requirements to join this cohort.

We believe in building and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace environment. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer where all applicants are considered for employment without attention to color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. Research shows that candidates from underrepresented backgrounds often don't apply for roles if they don't meet all the criteria – unlike majority candidates meeting significantly fewer requirements. We strongly encourage you to apply if you’re interested!

We are seeking candidates who have lived experience related to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are a virtual organization with headquarters in the California Bay Area.