Director of Exceptional Learners

DSST Public Schools•Denver, CO

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Exceptional Learners reports to the Vice President of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum and works closely with leaders across the organization. This position provides a unique opportunity for an individual with superior special education expertise and people, systems, and instructional leadership skills to play a central role in supporting the advancement of one of the organization's most important priorities. The Director of Exceptional Learners will lead mission-critical work to: Further develop and actualize DSST’s vision for Exceptional Learners in order to improve academic outcomes for students. Lead the Home Office Exceptional Learners Team in providing excellent service and support to Special Education, 504, and Gifted & Talented leaders and teachers at all DSST schools. Build the capacity of school leaders and teachers throughout the organization to reach desired outcomes for all exceptional learners.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree required from accredited university
At least 3 years of experience as a special education teacher
At least 5 years of experience managing programming for exceptional learners
You want to change the way the public school system serves students, so that all kids– regardless of race, ethnicity or income – have the opportunity to go to college.
Strong commitment to solving education inequity and a passion for the ability of joyful, inclusive culture and student experience to play a role in that solution
Proactive problem-solver who demonstrates initiative and ability to work individually and with a team
Experience and comfort with facilitation of classroom sessions, professional development, and events
Experience and comfort working with middle school and high school students and school staff
You create unambiguous systems and procedures to allow others to easily replicate or take advantage of your work and thinking
You have a strong customer service mindset and ability to clearly guide users to solutions

Nice To Haves

Master's Degree or advanced coursework in relevant field strongly preferred
7+ years of experience in special education (classroom experience required)
3+ years of experience in school leadership (as an instructional leader, assistant principal, or principal)
2+ years experience in central office or regional leadership

Responsibilities

Develop & refine a coherent vision for Special Education, 504, and GT systems, programming, and instruction across the DSST network.
Collaborate with the Exceptional Learners Team & network content leaders to adopt and implement curricular materials and resources that drive towards high academic outcomes for Exceptional Learners.
Maintain strong line of sight & use data effectively to diagnose the state of instruction, compliance, programming, and other health metrics for exceptional learners, and lead strategic initiatives for continuous improvement.
Lead strong systems for school planning in partnership with the Strategy team, the Finance team, Academic Program team, and Human Capital team- ensuring all schools have the staffing, conditions, and systems for strong programming in service of Exceptional Learners.
Lead the development of a highly effective team to implement DSST’s vision and achieve results for exceptional learners across the network of schools.
Directly coach & manage the Senior Managers of Exceptional Learners, Lead Network SPED Teacher, & Lead Network School Psychologist.
Design a clear & sustainable tiered support system for work between the Home Office Exceptional Learners team and schools - ensuring schools are ultimately enabled to achieve our network goals for programming, academic outcomes, and compliance.
Analyze Exceptional Learners data through a program, instruction, and compliance lens and create & implement appropriate response plans.
Adapt team systems for support as needs change and to support a growing and evolving network of schools.
Build the capacity of school leaders through the organization to lead effective Special Education programs.
Lead highly effective teacher development systems & programming for onboarding and developing special educators across experience levels.
Work collaboratively across the organization to ensure coherence between teacher development, coach development, and curriculum implementation in Special Education.
Collaborate with school leaders and SPED Admin to identify areas for improvement and provide targeted support to improve and enhance programming for exceptional learners.
Build strong relationships and communication channels with partners at DSST LEAs (Denver Public Schools and Aurora Public Schools)
Positively represent DSST with strategic partners, including local Special Education advocacy organizations, regional and national experts, etc.
Model our Core Values, Commitment to the Human Condition, and our commitment to equity as a Leader within the Network
Play an active leadership role in building and sustaining Home Office culture
Engage with our school communities to actively build relationships between our schools and the home office
Participate in & support the execution of Home Office & Network-wide events