Special Education Coordinator

Description:
Special Education Coordinator

Job Summary:
Operating under the general direction of the Director of Special Education, this position functions as a District representative working to advocate for and support the work of Special Education staff. Employee works with Teachers, Special Service Providers (SSPs), Instructional Coaches, Building Leaders, Directors, and other Coordinators in aligning to District priorities and to ensure regulatory compliance with special education law, policies, statutes, and procedures. Coordinators act as a technical resource regarding the development and delivery of Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and help champion the District-wide vision for a commitment to high expectations and for the success of students. IEP responsibilities include working with staff on the accurate and timely development, composition, presentation, and execution of student’s IEPs. Other responsibilities include ongoing research and promoting evidence-based teaching practices. In addition, and as assigned, this position may also oversee a variety of applicable operational duties including developing instructional materials and supports, overseeing staffing needs, and managing training obligations. Special Education (SPed) Coordinators are a primary point of contact regarding the integration of special education programs/offerings for the District and as such must collaborate and facilitate these interactions with a variety of stakeholders.

LEADERSHIP AND ADMINISTRATION DELIVERY:
The primary responsibility for this Coordinator position is to ensure special education regulatory compliance, especially as it relates to student’s IEPs. Coordinators work with SPed teachers, building leaders, and others in the development of school supports, coaching goals and action plans, while also seeking coherence and consistency with the D51 Learning Model. Duties and expectations toward this goal include:

• Supporting site leaders in developing school wide systems that ensure ALL special education students advance toward mastery and attainment of their individual academic, social/emotional and life skills including;
  • Developing dynamic, innovative programming to align with student needs and abilities with current employment, independent living, and community integration goals;
  • Supporting instructional programs that recognize the contributions of diverse groups and foster success for all students regardless of gender, sex, and/or disabilities;
  • Understanding and championing the use of technology in all supported programs and systems;
  • Consulting and working collaboratively with parents/guardians on student needs, available programming, and alternative conflict resolution or problem-solving solutions;
• Collaborating and brainstorming with other departments and leaders to provide essential resources and support for schools;
  • Using data analysis, integration, and evidence-based decision making to analyze the current status of services/offerings and to use student data as a catalyst for benchmark of growth and continuous improvement of instructional coaching services/offerings,
  • Working as a change leader in support of district initiatives, teaching innovation, and the pursuit of positive student outcomes,
• Engaging with internal and external stakeholders to promote schools’ efforts to integrate the implementation of our competency-based and personalized D51 Learning Model with special needs learners.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING SUPPORTS AND DELIVERY:
Leadership in this dynamic educational department requires an understanding of the philosophy of standards based education, the D51 Learning Model, individual education plans, the processes of curriculum development and its effectiveness in the school. The employee provides a high level of knowledge regarding current special education educational trends, programs and best practices incorporating these factors into a comprehensive program of Professional Learning opportunities and instructional delivery standards. The Coordinator works with Directors, peer Coordinators, Instructional Coaches, Content Specialist, Building Leaders, and Teachers to plan, design and implement level and content specific professional development programming for Teachers and other District staff as assigned.

• Demonstrating support of professional learning goals and objectives through the alignment of coaching resources at each school site that support the D51 Learning Model and Teaching and Learning Framework;
  • Spearheading the implementation of programs and goals for assigned staff that include curriculum, educational strategies, guidelines, and standards,
  • Coordinating resources to support the rollout and implementation of the D51 Social and Emotional Learning Framework (SEL),
  • Collaborating to assess the needs, design, and implement professional development opportunities related to special education and documenting best practices for teaching the special education student. Collaboration efforts to develop effective programming include an expectation to incorporate relevant community involvement and components of cultural considerations,
  • Continuously communicating goals of the programming to administrators, teachers, parents, and other stakeholder groups,
  • Providing level and applicable support materials and resources for programs and services through a variety of mediums,
  • Integrating a comprehensive plan for Instructional Coaching oversight in order to assess program fidelity and effectiveness
  
  

STAFF SUPERVISION AND DEVELOPMENT:
The Coordinator serves as a role model for site leadership directly overseeing and supervising both Certified and Classified staff in accordance with District policies and applicable laws. Coordinators may be assigned a mix of professional and support staff that includes any of the Special Service Providers groups i.e. Psychologist, Speech Language Pathologists, Orthopedic Therapist, Physical Therapists, and Audiologists, Behavior & SIT Team members, and other support staff. Coordinators are charged with collaboratively implementing a staff development program that recognizes and supports both:

• Student success as the primary focus;
• And intertwines the applied principles of collaborative adult learning;

Note: Coordinators hold considerable influence regarding the planning, recruitment, professional development needs, and assignment of SPed Teachers, SSPs, and other department support staff. Coordinators work with Building Leaders, Director of Professional Learning and Director of Student Services in these efforts:

• Providing and brokering high quality research-based professional learning based on individual and group learning needs;
• Acting as a coach and supervisor to SPed support staff, Teachers & Special Service Providers, upholding the evaluation process, and expectations involving outcomes to ensure continuous improvement;
• Modeling effective communication and engagement practices through high quality written and oral communication including well-written supervisory documents, office communication, and daily correspondence,
• Providing collaborative input as to the special education staffing needs of each assigned school site,
• Collaborating in the recruitment, hiring, and retention of qualified special education staff,
• Assisting leadership providing crucial information regarding practice(s), supervision needs, and providing evaluation input,
• Working the Professional Learning Director, and site leaders to assess the professional learning needs of general education teachers regarding special education,
• Leading and/or participating in meetings, workshops and seminars with responsibilities to remain up to date on research based teaching and learning practices and current trends.

In addition, supervising and evaluating is conducted in the framework of instructional program goals and expectations including a variety of human resources responsibilities but not limited to:

• Interviewing, hiring, training, promoting, planning, and assigning work,Contributions to the evaluations of certified staff are conducted per Colorado Department of Education (CDE) requirements.
  • Conducting performance evaluations, rewarding and disciplining employee conduct,
  • Addressing employee/student complaints and resolving problems.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in education plus additional special education coursework required for certification or licensure;*
• Minimum of five years of experience in Classroom Teacher role;
• Minimum of two years of demonstrated leadership experience in Performance Based or Competency Based Systems;
• Attend and successfully complete all staff development training as required by state law or as directed by the Director.
• (Acceptable educational and experience equivalent will be at the sole discretion of the District)
• Valid Colorado School Administrator’s license required for hire; preference given for Special Education Director’s License;
• Valid Colorado driver’s license or valid Colorado Identification required;
• Criminal background check required for hire.

Working Conditions:
207 Days / Year

Application Procedure:
Apply Online

Salary & Benefits:
$79,983 - $132,770
View all salary schedules for the current school year at: https://d51schools.org/employment/job_opportunities/salary_schedules
Information regarding D51 Benefits can be found here: https://www.d51schools.org/employment/current_employees/employee_benefits