Coach Applicant Guide

Thank you for your interest in becoming a Team Read coach for the 2024-25 school year! We’re excited to help you develop your leadership skills while you build a young student’s reading skills and confidence.

Working for Team Read is a formal job, and applying to be a reading coach involves a few steps:

    1. Submit a Team Read application
    2. Complete your school district’s hourly hire paperwork/requirements (unless requesting service-learning credit – see below)
    3. Attend new coach orientation and training
    4. You must accept and confirm your fall site placement

Team Read coaches become hourly employees of the school districts in which they serve, so you’ll be required to complete the district application process before being invited to attend new coach orientation (if your Team Read application is accepted, you’ll be contacted by your district’s Human Resources department to complete their paperwork and requirements). While district applications have a lot of different parts, they’re manageable with some organization and foresight. (NOTE: If you’re a Seattle applicant requesting service-learning credit, you won’t be asked for these materials.)

We’ve put together this guide to assist you throughout the entire Team Read application and onboarding process. You’ll find a timeline with important due dates, an overview of school district applications, and a detailed walkthrough of two legally-required hiring documents: the federal I-9 and W-4 forms (you’ll be required to complete these forms for every paying job you hold in the United States, so now’s a good time to learn about them!).

Hiring Timeline

  

Below is Team Read’s tentative 2024-25 coach hiring and onboarding timeline. Please add these dates to your calendar now so you’ll know when you need to turn things in, as well as when you’ll hear from us throughout the process.


Seattle

  • Thursday, May 9, 2024 – Applications for new and returning Team Read coaches will open
  • May – September 2024 – Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, the earlier you apply the quicker your application can be reviewed
  • Early August – Team Read begins emailing selected applicants with invitation to complete the school district’s required hourly hire paperwork packet
  • Sunday, September 22, 2024 – Last day to submit coach applications. Applications submitted after this date may not be reviewed by staff
  • Late September – School district’s required hourly hire paperwork packet due.  Accepted applicants invited to register for Team Read coach training
  • Early October – Team Read coach training takes place
  • Mid October – Accepted coaches assigned to Team Read tutoring sites
  • Week of November 4, 2024 – Tutoring sessions with readers begin!


Highline

  • Sunday, September 15, 2024 – Last day to submit Team Read coach applications
  • September 2024 – Selected applicants invited to complete the school district’s required employment paperwork (start this process as soon as possible – don’t wait until the last minute!)
  • Late September – School district’s required employment paperwork due
  • Late September – Accepted applicants invited to register for Team Read coach training
  • Early-mid October – Team Read coach training (online); coaches assigned to Team Read tutoring sites
  • Mid October – Team Read on-site coach training (at your assigned site); tutoring sessions with readers begin!

 

Renton

  • September 15, 2024 – Last day to submit Team Read coach applications
  • Early September – Selected applicants required to complete the school district’s hourly hiring paperwork/requirements. Please check your email daily.
  • Late September – Register for Team Read coach training. Please check your email daily.
  • Early October – Team Read coach training (online)
  • October 17th and 19th – On-site coach training (at Campbell Hill Elementary)
  • October 23rd – Tutoring sessions with readers begin!

 

Tukwila

  • September 30th, 2024 – Last day to submit Team Read coach applications
  • Ongoing until mid-October – Selected applicants invited to complete the school district’s hourly hiring paperwork/requirements (start this process as soon as possible – don’t wait until the last minute!)
  • October 13, 2024 – School district hourly hire paperwork/requirements due; accepted applicants invited to register for Team Read coach training
  • Late October / November – Team Read coach training (online) and in-person on-site training; coaches assigned to Team Read tutoring sites
  • Late November – Team Read tutoring sessions with readers begin!

 

What You Can Do in Advance

 

If your Team Read application is accepted (step 1, above), your next step will be applying to become a paid employee of the school district in which you’ll serve by completing their hourly hire packet (you will be contacted by your district’s Human Resources department to complete their paperwork and requirements). (NOTE: If you are a Seattle applicant requesting service-learning credit, you will not be asked for these materials). There are a couple of things you can do now to prepare for this process:

Collect your identification for the I-9 form

To be hired for a paying job in the United States, you are required by law to complete the Federal I-9 form to verify your identity and legal work eligibility. You will be asked by your employer to show:

  • One current (not expired) document that verifies both your identity and work eligibility (List A), OR
  • Two current (not expired) documents: one that verifies your identity (List B) and another that verifies your work eligibility (List C)

See our detailed I-9 walkthrough for the specific types of documentation you can use.  If you have a passport (book or card), a social security card (not just your number) and an officially-issued photo ID, you should be fine. If you don’t have these,  however, you’ll want to work on getting them as soon as possible – it can take time to have them issued

Decide how you want to be paid

Once officially hired, you can receive your monthly paycheck in one of two ways:

  • Direct deposit, which requires a bank account and your bank’s routing number*
  • Paper checks sent to a valid mailing address

*NOTE: All 2024-25 Seattle coaches will be required to register for direct deposit. If you do not have a bank account, please consult with your local bank to obtain one or sign up for an electronic PayCard through Seattle Public Schools (you’ll be able to use it like a debit card, including to access your balance via ATM).

School District Hiring Requirements

 

Washington State public school districts usually have some form of the following documents and submission requirements as part of their application process (there may be more or fewer, depending on your district). Some of these forms require information from you, and some are for your information (you’ll be asked to acknowledge that you’ve received them).

  • Application – Will request your name and contact information, as well as some or all of the following: previous work experience, personal or professional references (family members and teachers are acceptable), emergency contact information, and any criminal history
  • Criminal background check form – Required for your consent to conduct a criminal background check prior to hire (signature; may also ask for your Social Security Number)
  • Equal opportunities policy statement – Provides the district’s official equal opportunities policy (signature)
  • Information from the state and your employer about work-related safety (proper lifting techniques) and what to do if you’re injured on the job (Worker’s Comp) (signature)
  • Employee responsibilities and selected district policies – Lists the names of/links for the district’s policies that apply to you as an hourly employee (signature)
  • WA State Department of Retirement Systems Eligibility Documentation Form –  If you’ll be working for your school district and another company/organization at the same time, you’ll need to disclose if the other one is also a WA State public employer (like the public library, state college/university, etc.)
  • Fingerprint confirmation form – WA State requires all K-12 school employees 18 years of age or older to be fingerprinted (if you are under 18, you don’t need to complete this step)
  • Direct deposit form – You’ll need your bank account and routing numbers

In addition to the requirements above, you’ll also be asked to complete the federal I-9 and W-4 forms. You’ll fill out these forms for every job you hold in the U.S. throughout your career. Visit our detailed walkthrough of these two documents for more information.

  • Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9) – A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) document used to verify your identity and ability to legally work in the United States. You can find the official instructions here.
  • Employee’s Withholding Certificate (W-4) – An Internal Revenue Service (IRS) document that includes all the information your employer needs to withhold the correct amount of taxes from your paycheck each month and fill out your tax documents each year. The official instructions begin on page 2 of the form.