Dean of Special Services

General Overview: 

The primary role of the Dean of Special Services (DSS)  is to oversee and coordinate all academic supports to improve outcomes for students who receive specialized services as mandated on IEPs and 504 plans, ELP plans, and pre-referral academic interventions. This person will either oversee two-three campuses or be placed at one DPNY campus to oversee the campus as well as lead the special class program as assigned by their supervisor.  They partner with the network Directors of Special Education to build a vision for strong special education instructional programming and compliance systems at Democracy Prep, and work to make that vision come to life. The DSS will provide professional development and coaching to special education teachers and co-teaching staff on differentiation and specially designed instruction, serve as an avid communicator with families, and maintain strong data-based compliance systems to drive scholar outcomes. This school-based position will sit as a member of the leadership team and report directly to the network Directors of Special Services. 

Who You Are:

• A leader and educator with an unwavering commitment to the Democracy Prep mission of college success and authentic civic engagement for all scholars, especially those with significant challenges; you have an innate or highly-developed ability to set a vision across an entire school and motivate others towards achieving the vision
• A data-informed leader, adept at data analysis, with a strong sense of personal agency and accountability for scholars’ academic achievement and a belief that all scholars, including those with disabilities and MLLs, can and will achieve at high levels; a constant learner who is willing to reevaluate one’s understanding based on new information and data
• An organized manager with strong time management and follow-up skills and a demonstrated ability to take initiative and handle multiple projects concurrently
• An excellent communicator, with a demonstrated ability to speak and write clearly and persuasively to a variety of stakeholders
• A knowledgeable educator who has expertise in reading intervention methods, curriculum, and programs designed for students with learning, developmental, and/or emotional disabilities, as well as case management experience
• Strongly Preferred: At least 1 year of managing and leading adults 
• Required: At least 3 years of experience in a K-12 setting with a proven track record of driving success for students with learning differences

What You’ll Do

• Serve as an instructional leader, charged with shaping a culture of inclusion and instructional vision for all students with learning differences across those campuses, as directed by the network Directors of Special Services.
• Provide extensive instructional coaching support, by both partnering with fellow members of your schools’ leadership teams and through direct coaching of teachers.
• Function as an on-the-ground expert at your campus(es), working to adapt the network vision for excellence in special services based on individual campus needs, in conjunction with school leadership teams.
• Manage the implementation of specialized services programming as mandated on IEPs and 504 plans, as well as pre-referral academic interventions, with support from the network Directors of Special Services.
• Provide guidance and coaching to all school personnel on best practices for special education. This includes, but is not limited to, implementation of intervention curricula, differentiation of Democracy Prep’s core curricula, and scheduling of mandated educational placements and services.
• Review data to ensure that students who are receiving special education and/or pre-referral services are closely monitored over time to determine if these students need additional support and interventions.
• Ensure the implementation of all testing accommodations as mandated on IEPs. 
• Support the work of the network MLL Senior Specialist and campus-based MLL Coordinators at your campuses as needed, including implementation of testing accommodations.
• Update and maintain all special education data tracking compliance systems to align with Democracy Prep’s data management processes. 
• Manage relationship(s) with CSE teams to adhere to IEP compliance protocols and coordinate IEP meetings.
• Manage all external related services (Speech, OT, PT, paras, etc.), specialized transportation, and support coordination of social work mandates. 
• Plan and execute regular staff professional development on compliance and instructional topics that leads to improved teacher practice and achievement for scholars with learning differences.
• Oversee case management systems at your campus(es) to ensure strong data-based creation of teacher reports and IEPs, including SMART IEP goals.
• Complete the special education per pupil billing process five times per year to maximize reimbursement claims at your campuses.
• In addition, if the DSS is overseeing a special class program, the following will apply:
• The DSS will serve as an instructional leader who drives the vision and culture of the 15:1 or 12:1 classrooms on campus. They will be charged with shaping a culture of inclusion and instructional vision for students enrolled in small classrooms, as directed by the network Directors of Special Education.
• The DSS will support in creating codified scope and sequences, curricula, and Regents prep materials in conjunction with the Directors of Special Services and principal. 
• Serve as a champion for scholars with IEPs in the 12:1 setting, ensuring that IEPs and IEP goals are central to the educational experience of those scholars, including social-emotional supports; use your extensive knowledge of scholars’ IEPs to drive and coach strong instruction and SEL support as you lead the work in developing the whole child.
• Serve as a direct coach of teachers who are teaching in the small class program

Compensation

Our salary schedule is commensurate with years of Dean experience. Our salaries for this position start at $98,700 for a first-year Dean and cap at $145,028 for a Dean with 29+ years of Dean experience. Democracy Prep employees are provided with a benefits package that includes medical, vision, and dental insurance, 403B matching, and parental leave.

Democracy Prep is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, or ancestry, sex, age, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, veteran or military status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, familial status, domestic violence victim status, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances. Our mission is to educate responsible citizen-scholars who will change the world. We strongly believe that by building a DREAM team that represents numerous perspectives, backgrounds, and expertises, we can achieve this goal together. This is a value we highly support and strongly encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply.