Director of Special Education Curriculum and Instruction
Director of Special Education Curriculum and Instruction
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Job Description
Director of Special Education Curriculum and Instruction
District Overview The Holyoke Public Schools are committed to ensuring a high-quality education for all. We have invested in recruiting and retaining diverse top-quality educators who inspire bold thinking recognize student potential and encourage all students to work towards their goals. In Holyoke we are committed to becoming an anti-racist district by focusing on:
- Anti-Racism Training for All Staff Members
- Policy Review and Revision
- Facilitating School Visits Through an Equity Lens
- Establishing the Holyoke Race and Equity Team
- Establishing Equity Indicators for Accountability of HPS Employees Students and Partners
We know that students do their best when they pursue their passions so we have designed multiple pathways where all students graduate prepared to excel in college career and community leadership. Holyoke Public Schools (HPS) serves 5400 students (of which over 80% are Latinx) in 12 schools and employs nearly 1500 people. The District was placed into receivership by the State of Massachusetts in Spring 2015 because of struggling performance and has since implemented a Turnaround Plan that has led to expanded choice programs (such as dual language STEM and early college) and new opportunities for students to explore the arts sports sciences and local and world cultures. Since 2015 the District has experienced numerous accomplishments for instance:
- Doubling access to PreK programming
- 10-point graduation rate increase
- 85 percent increase in access to early college programming
- 9-point increase (to 22%) in hiring teachers of color
Director of Special Education Curriculum and Instruction Overview
Reporting to the Executive Director of Academics and serving as an integral member of the Academic Leadership Team the Director of Special Education Curriculum and Instruction is charged with providing leadership management supervision coordination and direction of all special education curriculum instruction and professional learning for students with disabilities. Responsibilities include strategic professional development creating and maintaining budgets monitoring compliance to meet state and federal mandates and supporting equitable evidence-based practices and programming for academic growth and achievement and social-emotional learning.
The Director of Special Education Curriculum and Instruction will support the instructional leaders and educators in the district to work together to provide the children and families of the Holyoke Public Schools with the highest possible level of education and service pursuant to the districts turnaround plan.
Position Specific Responsibilities
Instructional Leadership
- Ensure access to general education instruction for students with disabilities (SWDs).
- Support and monitor the implementation of special education curriculum including substantially separate programs.
- Support the HPS Strategic Plan for inclusive practices and Universal Design for Learning.
- Coordinate and consult with the academics team to align special education initiatives with general education goals.
- Coordinate and monitor professional learning offerings for special education in conjunction with school and district leaders.
Management and Operations
- Support principals with observations and evaluations of special education staff as needed.
- Develop and monitor district professional learning for special education teachers paraprofessionals and other staff members
- Supervise and plan for self-contained teacher rep positions for all substantially separate programs
- Organize the purchasing and distribution of all curricular materials related to special education.
- Support district and school based leadership with the recruitment and hiring of effective special education teachers
- Support district efforts to build expand and improve pipelines and pathways for special education staff
- Supervise and evaluate special education expert teachers
Professional Culture
- As a member of the district level Teaching and Learning Team collaborate with the Director of English Language Learners to develop more comprehensive and effective instructional approaches and pathways for students who are English Language Learners (ELLs) who also have a disability.
- As a member of the district level Teaching and Learning Team collaborate with the Pupil Services team to ensure high-quality instruction for all students with disabilities.
- Advise and support school leaders to support budgeting and ordering of curriculum-aligned resources.
- Advocate for the equitable distribution of resources and talent in special education.
- Demonstrate a readiness to lead and own the district-wide improvement of student performance results.
Family and Community Engagement
- Collaborate with the Family and Community Engagement team to ensure messaging around special education curriculum and assessment is accurately and clearly communicated.
- Partner with families and the community to support the educational success of students with disabilities ensuring their voices are heard and included in decision-making processes.
- Support in addressing concerns raised by family members in a timely effective and transparent manner
Eligibility and Qualifications Experience skills traits and beliefs:
- A strong understanding of special education regulations high-quality instructional practices and a proven track record of using individual student and school-wide assessment data to drive achievement gains in an urban setting.
- Experience coaching or managing high-performing instructional teams in special education.
- Outstanding critical thinking skills with demonstrated success in planning and implementing data-driven strategies to improve student performance.
- Ability to manage complex projects and teams efficiently and effectively.
- A bold innovative and engaging change agent with a vision for inspiring and motivating those around them.
- Excellent managerial skills with a proven success in managing and coaching a team of professionals to achieve ambitious goals.
- Strong communication skills both written and verbal with the ability to guide and inspire teachers school staff school leaders and central office staff toward a common goal.
- Exceptional interpersonal skills with a track record of working collaboratively with staff at all levels and community partners to deliver outstanding results.
- A commitment to high-performance standards and an unwavering belief that all students can excel.
- An advanced degree in education special education or a related field is required.
- Supervisor/Director license is required.
Compensation Salary and benefits will be competitive and commensurate with experience.
Required Experience:
Director
Employment Type
Full-Time
