How To Become A Literacy Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a literacy specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Literacy specialists are essential in the development of children when it comes to reading and writing. They are education professionals that lead literacy instruction, assessment, and intervention in schools to ensure that all children receive adequate support for literacy.

Furthermore, literacy specialists coordinate, coach, and train teachers and support staff with literacy programs and teaching practices. They are also responsible for communicating with children's families about literacy plans and progress reports, as well as coordinating literacy practices with child care.

The role of a literacy specialist typically requires a master's degree in education with focus on reading or literacy. On top of that, many educational institutions also require their applicants to have certain licenses or certifications, such as a K-12 reading specialist license. Exemplary skills in people management, instruction, strategy, and leadership are also common things that employers look for in applicants.

Due to the high level of experience and expertise that a literacy specialist requires, they earn an above-average salary of around $82,000 per year.

ScoreLiteracy SpecialistUS Average

Salary

4.6

Avg. Salary $59,520

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.8

Growth rate -6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.57%

Asian 5.36%

Black or African American 12.04%

Hispanic or Latino 14.34%

Unknown 5.62%

White 62.06%

Gender

female 84.01%

male 15.99%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.9

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a literacy specialist

Explore literacy specialist education requirements

Most common literacy specialist degrees

Bachelor's

58.9 %

Master's

28.8 %

Associate

7.9 %

Start to develop specific literacy specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Instructional Strategies	10.94%
School Administration	7.71%
Assessment Data	7.18%
Staff Development	5.95%
Curriculum Development	4.81%

Complete relevant literacy specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New literacy specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a literacy specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real literacy specialist resumes.

Research literacy specialist duties and responsibilities

Assist children on the autism spectrum academically and socially to achieve integration into a mainstream educational environment.
Coordinate family ESL classes with childcare.
Tutor and periodically assess multiple small groups of students of varying ages and abilities in science, mathematics, and literacy.
Used manipulatives to teach basic fundamentals in mathematics.

Prepare your literacy specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your literacy specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a literacy specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable literacy specialist resume templates

Build a professional literacy specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your literacy specialist resume.