Director of Student Services

Arts and College Preparatory Academy•Columbus, OH

About The Position

In accordance with the mission of ACPA, the Director of Student Services will work collaboratively with Intervention Specialists and instructional staff to achieve the following: Create and implement differentiated curriculum for individual and/or small groups of special education students during their collaboration period and/or classes as necessary. Develop, implement, and manage in collaboration with Principals, a special education program that reflects a progressive school culture of creativity, safety, inclusion, acceptance, and anti-bullying, and the values of honesty, communication, problem-solving, kindness, respect for diversity, participation and awareness. Create and maintain processes and procedures for identification of students with disabilities in accordance with state laws. Create and maintain a fair and equitable caseload distribution for Intervention Specialists. Develop and propose a departmental budget to administration, and operate within the assigned, approved budget. Ensure a positive and quality collaborative experience for identified students with special needs between their Intervention Specialist, general education teachers, parents, administration and other school personnel and outside agencies, that is focused on self-advocacy. Adhere to and remain compliant with all state and federal special education procedures and laws.

Requirements

Reflect and participate in a progressive school culture of creativity, safety, inclusion, acceptance, and anti-bullying.
Model and uphold the school values of honesty, communication, problem-solving, kindness, respect for diversity, participation and awareness in all interactions with school stakeholders – including students, staff, caregivers, families and community partners.
Create and implement differentiated curriculum for individual and/or small groups of special education students during their collaboration period and/or classes as necessary.
Develop, implement, and manage in collaboration with Principals, a special education program that reflects a progressive school culture of creativity, safety, inclusion, acceptance, and anti-bullying, and the values of honesty, communication, problem-solving, kindness, respect for diversity, participation and awareness.
Create and maintain processes and procedures for identification of students with disabilities in accordance with state laws.
Create and maintain a fair and equitable caseload distribution for Intervention Specialists.
Develop and propose a departmental budget to administration, and operate within the assigned, approved budget.
Ensure a positive and quality collaborative experience for identified students with special needs between their Intervention Specialist, general education teachers, parents, administration and other school personnel and outside agencies, that is focused on self-advocacy.
Adhere to and remain compliant with all state and federal special education procedures and laws.
Implement, coordinate, and oversee English Language Learners programming and curriculum.
Assist principals with onboarding and mentoring of new special education hires – including intervention specialists and instructional aides.
Represent the Special Education Department in administrative meetings.
Schedule psychologist evaluations and coordinate meetings with all parties involved (psych, students, caregivers, staff).
Schedule and lead ETR meetings.
Utilize Special Programs for meeting invites.
Schedule all ACPA (middle and high) IEP meetings.
Serve as 1st option for district representative at IEP meetings.
Create and maintain accommodation docs used by all staff.
In collaboration with the Testing Coordinator, ensure all student accommodations for End of Course Exams are furnished.
Coordinate all contracted services (SLP, OC, PT, psych, etc.) and maintain professional relationships with contracted service providers.
Serve as first contact for parents and caregivers seeking information regarding referrals.
Employ research-based instructional strategies.
Ensure academic systems are coherent and support rigorous instruction for all students.
Conduct classroom observations, give teacher feedback and analyze teacher trend data across campus to recognize gaps in instruction to inform areas of professional development.
Oversee the 5 step process in teacher based team and provide teacher coaching.
Create curated, job embedded professional development to meet the needs of teachers and leaders.
Manage academic assessment tools, data systems, and progress monitoring for all exceptional learners, including data analysis and EMIS reporting.
Create new partnerships and maintain current external partners (including consultants).
Create streams of income through partnership donations and/or grant writing.
Ensure all special education documents are compliant in context of dates and content.
Keep EMIS data up to date and accurate in PowerSchool.
Oversee and implement compliant instructional and paperwork practices with intervention specialists.
Coordinates the assessment of student performance data (pulled from MAPs, Formative assessments, Summative Assessments, State Testing and Teacher Observations) for students receiving SpEd services, students in the RTI process and students who simply struggle in the general education classroom.
Identify, create and share a wealth of resources accessible to teachers to use or alter to fit the needs of diverse learners in their classrooms so that all students can access grade level materials.
Organize and manage Virtual Library of differentiated materials in shared drives created for teachers to pull resources from year-round for their content and grade level.
Will meet with teachers to help create scaffolding and supports within lessons.
Will perform observations of students in classrooms and offer feedback on supporting said students moving forward.
Will implement and maintain a streamlined RTI data collection and analysis system that can be used and accessed by all staff members.
Will work with teachers to create resources within the classroom to support differentiation, small group instruction, and data collection to reach students in RTI track and diverse learners alike.

Responsibilities

Lead regular department meetings to check-in and problem solve with intervention specialists.
Implement, coordinate, and oversee English Language Learners programming and curriculum.
Assist principals with onboarding and mentoring of new special education hires – including intervention specialists and instructional aides.
Represent the Special Education Department in administrative meetings.
Schedule psychologist evaluations and coordinate meetings with all parties involved (psych, students, caregivers, staff).
Schedule and lead ETR meetings.
Utilize Special Programs for meeting invites.
Schedule all ACPA (middle and high) IEP meetings.
Serve as 1st option for district representative at IEP meetings.
Create and maintain accommodation docs used by all staff.
In collaboration with the Testing Coordinator, ensure all student accommodations for End of Course Exams are furnished.
Coordinate all contracted services (SLP, OC, PT, psych, etc.) and maintain professional relationships with contracted service providers.
Serve as first contact for parents and caregivers seeking information regarding referrals.
Employ research-based instructional strategies.
Ensure academic systems are coherent and support rigorous instruction for all students.
Conduct classroom observations, give teacher feedback and analyze teacher trend data across campus to recognize gaps in instruction to inform areas of professional development.
Oversee the 5 step process in teacher based team and provide teacher coaching.
Create curated, job embedded professional development to meet the needs of teachers and leaders.
Manage academic assessment tools, data systems, and progress monitoring for all exceptional learners, including data analysis and EMIS reporting.
Create new partnerships and maintain current external partners (including consultants).
Create streams of income through partnership donations and/or grant writing.
Ensure all special education documents are compliant in context of dates and content.
Keep EMIS data up to date and accurate in PowerSchool.
Oversee and implement compliant instructional and paperwork practices with intervention specialists.
Coordinates the assessment of student performance data (pulled from MAPs, Formative assessments, Summative Assessments, State Testing and Teacher Observations) for students receiving SpEd services, students in the RTI process and students who simply struggle in the general education classroom.
Identify, create and share a wealth of resources accessible to teachers to use or alter to fit the needs of diverse learners in their classrooms so that all students can access grade level materials.
Organize and manage Virtual Library of differentiated materials in shared drives created for teachers to pull resources from year-round for their content and grade level.
Will meet with teachers to help create scaffolding and supports within lessons.
Will perform observations of students in classrooms and offer feedback on supporting said students moving forward.
Will implement and maintain a streamlined RTI data collection and analysis system that can be used and accessed by all staff members.
Will work with teachers to create resources within the classroom to support differentiation, small group instruction, and data collection to reach students in RTI track and diverse learners alike.