Instructional Facilitator, Occupational Therapy

Howard County Public School System • Perryton, TX

2d

About The Position

Under the direction of the Coordinator of Countywide Services, the Instructional Facilitator, Occupational Therapy leverages clinical expertise in early childhood and school-based practice to ensure the effective, compliant implementation of the HCPSS Occupational Therapy program. The Instructional Facilitator manages all departmental operations, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based occupational therapy services and contributing to the dynamic work and strategic goals of the Department of Special Education. This position has an anticipated start date during the current school year. Applicants currently employed with another Maryland public school system are responsible for verifying eligibility for release for this supervisory position if selected.

Requirements

• Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in Occupational Therapy.
• Current State of Maryland Occupational Therapist (OT-L) license.
• Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) professional certificate or license in one of the following: Administrator I Administrator II Supervisors of Instruction, Assistant Principals and Principals
• National Provider Identifier (NPI) issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) National Plan and Provider Enumeration Services (NPPES) with active enrollment in Maryland Medicaid. If the selected candidate does not already hold NPI or Maryland Medicaid enrollment upon hire, you must apply for NPI within 10 days of employment and Maryland Medicaid immediately upon receipt of NPI and must maintain active NPI and Maryland Medicaid enrollment as a condition of employment.
• Five (5) years of professional experience providing Occupational Therapy services in a PreK-12 or pediatric setting.
• Three (3) years of experience in leadership roles or leading programs or projects.
• Deep understanding of IDEA, Section 504, and MSDE (Maryland State Department of Education) regulations to ensure legally defensible IEPs and service delivery.
• Mastery of current research, clinical trends, and evidence-based interventions specifically tailored to the educational environment.
• Comprehensive knowledge of local school system initiatives, budgetary constraints, and human resources protocols.
• Skill in guiding both tenured and non-tenured staff through complex caseload management and professional development.
• Proficiency in analyzing staff workloads and calculating missed service hours to maintain compliance and equity across school sites.
• Ability to plan, prepare, and deliver engaging professional development training on clinical and administrative topics.
• Ability to work cross-functionally with the Department of Special Education, Compliance team, and building-level leadership to resolve service gaps.

Nice To Haves

• Leadership experience with broad oversight over projects, processes, or people across schools and offices and decision-making with a district-wide lens.
• Experience mentoring, coaching, or training new and experienced occupational therapists.
• Experience developing and conducting professional learning for occupational therapists to support students receiving occupational therapy services.
• Experience serving students birth-21 in a PreK-12 public school setting.
• Previous supervisory experience.

Responsibilities

• Ensures compliance and quality of OT services to students by recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding OT staff in collaboration with the HCPSS Human Resources department and temporary agencies.
• Monitors workloads within the OT services department to promote manageability and manages staffing assignments and transfer requests to ensure that schools are appropriately staffed based on student caseloads.
• Calculates missed services for schools with an OT vacancy so that make-up services can be provided or compensatory services can be arranged (in collaboration with the Department of Special Education Compliance team).
• Assists school-based teams in completing OT assessments, writing IEPs, and attending meetings (as able) when there is an OT vacancy at their school.
• Develops and facilitates training for full OT staff and non-tenured OTs throughout the year on laws, policies, procedures, HCPSS initiatives, and clinical OT topics.
• Conducts observations and collects data for yearly evaluations of OTs based upon the OT/PT/SLP version of the Danielson Framework for teacher evaluation and two other yearly goals.
• Stays informed about current research, best practices, trends, HCPSS initiatives, and OT clinical topics in school-based OT through participation in Division of Academics and Department of Special Education Meetings, Countywide Leadership meetings, Instructional Team Leader meetings, and OT continuing education.
• Participates in the MSDE State Steering Committee for OT/PT School-Based Practice and provides updates from MSDE and opportunities for learning and collaboration with leaders of other Maryland school systems.
• Mentors individual OTs, as needed, to solve specific problems related to their caseloads or their positions and trains/retrains on clinical topics or policies and procedures to promote quality services and legal compliance.
• Prepares and participates in yearly audits.
• Arranges for supervisors for university students doing their Level II fieldwork in HCPSS.
• Maintains inventory of and orders equipment and testing materials.
• Collaborates with the Coordinator on budgetary needs and other duties as indicated, etc.

Benefits

• HCPSS offers a comprehensive benefits package for eligible employees.
• Information about additional benefits such as paid time off can be found in the negotiated agreement for employees in this bargaining unit.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level