Description
Position at IDEA Public Schools

Regional Director of Special Education

Location: Baton Rouge or New Orleans

Baton Rouge is ranked in the top 100 on the U.S. News and World Report Best Places to Live Rankings. It is also home to IDEA Innovation and IDEA Bridge, the first IDEA Public School regions outside of the state of Texas. We are honored to pledge our passion and focus to the students of Baton Rouge and provide an educational experience that will end with college acceptance and matriculation.

While Baton Rouge is well known for its delicious cuisine and entertainment, it is also a nucleus for an abundant culture and history. We are ecstatic to enlist a cohort of strong individuals that will help support student's dreams to get to and through college.

In 2017, only 1 in 6 students graduated in the state of Louisiana graduated college-ready. Changing this statistic is part of the promise IDEA makes to current and incoming students. IDEA Southern Louisiana is part of the solution for sharing the endless possibilities in grade school, college, and beyond.

Role Mission: The Regional Director of Special Education supports a regional portfolio of schools in the areas of special education student academic achievement, special education administrative compliance, and special education pedagogical best practice. The Regional Director of Special Education will ensure consistent and quality coaching, training, and data support for special education teachers in his/her region through building strong business partnerships with regional leaders and academic service team members. The Regional Director of Special Education will also oversee the Special Education referral, evaluation, and reevaluation process through coaching and training school level staff and, as needed, managing these processes while building capacity.

Accountabilities

Captain the regional vision for Special Education excellence, pedagogy, and compliance expectations within the state of Louisiana ensuring high quality academic outcomes are met and 100% of external reporting, compliance, and data metrics are met.

• Serve as primary liaison with districts for Special Education and related services, both when IDEA is operating within the district and when IDEA is planning to launch within th district
• Liaison and represent IDEA Louisiana with related service providers, ensuring that compliance needs, student needs, and personnel needs will be met with high quality providers and within appropriate financial targets
• Corresponding with the IDEA Public Schools national special programs team to cascade and relay vision and problem solving across the region and national teams
• Manage school psychologists, speech language pathologists and other related services within the region
• Serve as a member of the regional leadership cabinet and as the expert on special education

Ensure successful implementation of a seamless process as students move through intervention, Response to Intervention, performance analysis, pre-referral, referral, and evaluation for Special Education Services

• Providing direct training and support to school psychologists around the processes, partnerships, and effective implementation

• Set vision, direction, and cascade learning and follow up in the field for process and roles and responsibilities for RTI and referrals.
• Ability to read and interpret data in order to prioritize high leverage next action steps
• Deeply understand the IDEA Critical Student Intervention model, last year's results, and priorities for improvement within the first month of hire
• Conduct field observations of CSI classrooms at campuses in your region to increase student achievement.
• Maintain a positive working relationship with school based academic counselors who manage the RTI process and with school psychologists

100% of IEP processes will be conducted in a legally compliant and professionally ethical manner.

• Ensure all special education teachers, principals, and headquarters team members in the region are proficient in use of SER
• Ability to read and analyze Interim Assessment data and pre-referral data in order to assist teachers in writing IEPs
• Observe and coach special education teachers and school leaders around holding highly effective planning, data analysis, and coaching conversations to increase student achievement results for children with IEPs.
• Manage the process that begins after a referral for evaluation has occurred leading up to and including holding of an IEP meeting. Train teachers in said processes.
• Observe and provide in-field feedback
• Develop and maintain strong parent partnerships.

60% of special education students in assigned region meet basic standard on LEAP/iLEAP ELA/Math exams.

• Partner with curriculum writers to ensure scaffolding strategies for Special Education/general education teacher use in grades K-8.
• Ensure training supports via webinars, course collaborations are available for Special Education teachers.
• Create a collaborative working environment between Special Education and general education teachers
• Participate in Special Education teacher data analysis and reteach planning to support improved teacher practice
• Work with campuses to create an effective tutorial/intervention plan for special education students if needed
• Design and execute training for SpEd teachers, as appropriate

75% of Special Education teachers in assigned region are rated as high performing (Level 3+) on Teacher Career Pathway

• Participate in coaching academies in order to increase proficiency level of quality observations and feedback for special education teachers
• Partner with Academic Services Team to make sure teachers are delivering effective, strategic curriculum driven instruction
• Ensure all teachers and managers understand the student achievement rubrics associated with their course on Teacher Career Pathway.

85% Special Education teacher retention from August to August; 90% Special Programs regional retention

• Partner with staffing team to design and execute regional teacher and staff retention strategy
• Monitor campus culture and partner with lead teams to coach and retain teachers
• Build relationships with teachers and communicate TCP initiatives
• Assist campus leaders in hiring high quality certified special education teachers who understand and are committed to IDEAs Special Education service delivery model.

Live values of IDEA

• Believes and is committed to our mission: that all students are capable of getting to and through college
• Is driven by outcomes and results, and wants to be held accountable for them
• Has a propensity for action, willing to make mistakes by doing in order to learn and improve quickly
• Thrives in an entrepreneurial, high-growth environment; is comfortable with ambiguity and change
• Seeks and responds well to feedback, which is shared often and freely across all levels of the organization

Knowledge & Skills

• Bachelor's degree required, Master's Degree preferred
• 3+ years Special Education teaching experience; 2+ years school-based Special Education program management experience
• Proven success with Special Education student achievement required
• Experience with the Louisiana Special Education Reporting System required

Licenses or Certifications:

• Louisiana teaching certificate
• Special Education teaching certificate preferred

Compensation

Salaries for this role typically fall between $71,298 and $92,688 commensurate with relevant experience and qualifications. This role is also eligible for a performance bonus based on individual and organizational performance and goal attainment.

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IDEA Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex or disability, in admission or access to, or treatment of employment in its programs and activities. Any person having inquiries concerning the organization's compliance with the regulations implementing Title VI of Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), or Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), may contact IDEA Human Resources at (956) 377-8000.