Director of Student Support Services
About School in the Square
School in the Square (S2) is a growing charter school network that will be serving families from Pre-K - 12th grade by Fall 2027. We currently have a Pre K-3 elementary school, a fully grown middle school and will be opening our new high school this fall. Drawing its name from the concept of the public square or “la placita”, our mantra is “Relationships First.” S2 is where communities come together to solve problems and celebrate successes. S2 provides a progressive and rigorous learning community in which students thrive physically, emotionally, and academically through differentiated and personalized education and adults grow through rich and robust professional development. Our community is grounded in principles of justice, equity, diversity and inclusivity (JEDI), enacting a culturally responsive and sustaining lens to our pedagogical practice and consistently examining the ways we can continue to walk firmly in the pursuit of social justice and against injustice of any kind.
About the Director of Student Support Services
The Director of Student Support Services will play a pivotal role in developing, implementing, and overseeing special education programs and services within our organization. This individual will collaborate with educators, administrators, and families to ensure that students with special needs receive the support and resources necessary to achieve academic success and personal growth. The Director of Student Support Services ensures that teachers are implementing high-quality instruction that is accessible for all students, that all students are receiving the supports to meet their needs, and that we operate in full compliance with local, state, and federal regulations governing special education. This is an ideal position for an educator with a strong educational and clinical background who is a systems thinker. This position will work closely with the school-based coordinators of student support services.
Responsibilities:
- Ensures the academic and social emotional progress of all SWD’s and MLL’s to ensure they achieve their individual goals.
- Ensures that schools are able to achieve its overall goals for its students with special needs, including the metrics for student persistence and student growth established by federal law, NYSED and their individual IEPs.
- Advocates for special education students, their families, and the staff who serve them.
- Partners with school-based Student Support Service Coordinators to engage with the local Committee on Special Education to ensure that students with disabilities are appropriately identified, have effectively written IEPs, and receive the programs and services in those IEPS in a high-quality way to ensure student success.
- Ensures that all aspects of the schools’ special education model are implemented effectively, including integrated collaborative teaching, direct and indirect SETSS, and the school’s resource room. Ensures the ongoing effective delivery of related services (such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, and counseling).
- Ensures that schools develop measurable and achievable goals for each child based on their unique strengths, challenges, and learning objectives, in alignment with state standards and educational best practices
- Partners with the central and school-based operations team to ensure that the record keeping for SWD’s and MLL’s is in line with the best practices.
- Oversees compliance of all special education files. Ensures that the regular school-based processes for review of the IEPs of all new and continuing students is in place. Ensures that IEPs are based on quantitative present levels of performance, curriculum standards, and content and is relevant for each student.
- Designs and implements the school’s intervention and referral process
- Work as a highly effective partner on the central S2 academic team, participating and facilitating meetings, solving challenges and building a cohesive team.
- As a crucial member of the team for the Head of School, ensures that effective RTI Committees are in place at each school and that data-based practices are in place which support both effective RTI practices and faculty learning.
- Partners with the team to ensure effective practices are integrated into all classrooms and curricula as part of tier I interventions.
- Ensures that ongoing testing processes in the school integrate best practices on accommodations as well as aligning to all IEPs, laws and regulation.
- Performs other tasks and assumes other responsibilities as the Head of Schools may assign or delegate
- Provides professional development and coaching for leadership and instructional staff to target instruction based on specific areas of need, including through the use of accommodations and modifications, compliance and co-teaching, tiered interventions as well as more subject specific support (aligned to their expertise).
- Promotes strong relationships with students who have special needs and their families, monitors ongoing communication to parents, and provides guidance in complex cases
- Maintains knowledge of federal, state and local special education regulations and engages in ongoing professional learning to understand any shifts in these expectations
- Works with the Data Manager and School-Based Coordinators to ensure that quarterly reports to the Principal and Head of Schools that describe the achievement of special education students, strengths in the implementation of the special education program, and suggested areas for growth.
Qualifications
- Passionate commitment to the mission of School in the Square and investment in our vision and values;
- Passionate dedication to improve the minds, characters, and lives of students both in and out of school;
- A Masters Degree and New York state certification as a Teacher of Students with Disabilities. At least 3 prior years of experience as a special education teacher
- Evidence of deep knowledge of special education compliance and effective practice.
- An adept problem-solver with a demonstrated ability to think critically, plan strategically, as well as research and perform detailed data analysis;
- Skilled in written and oral communication to diverse audiences and facilitating decision-making among multiple parties;
- Proactive and fast learner who thrives in a fast-paced environment;
- Ability to provide high-leverage feedback via classroom observations and school walk-throughs
- Knowledge of the principles and methods for curriculum and instruction, co-curricular and extracurricular design, and the measurement of training and development
- Demonstrate ability to interpret policy, procedures, and data
- Demonstrate experience using technology as both a management and instructional tool
- A high appreciation for and ability to work in and lead a diverse community
- Team-player capable of working both collaboratively and independently with a proven ability to:
- Engage, enlist, and energize others in ongoing improvement of learning and teaching;
- self-initiate, determine a course of action, and make necessary proposals for change when necessary
Salary and Benefits
At S2 we take as much care of our teachers and staff as we do of our students. S2 is committed to supporting our teachers by helping them build sustainable, rewarding careers that center on each educator’s passions and multi-disciplinary interests. All of our faculty and staff are valued professionals, and we are proud to provide extended planning time, team-building and collaboration, comfortable and friendly working conditions, and more to ensure our team members all have the tools they need to succeed.
The salary range for the Director of Student Support Services at School in the Square is $110,000-$140,000. In addition to the competitive salary and meaningful work, S2 provides an excellent comprehensive benefits package with employer paid life insurance, a 401K program with a 6% organizational match and advisor, longevity bonus, generous paid time off, access to a federal student loan debt reduction program, professional growth opportunities, and a friendly work environment.
School in the Square understands specific groups are subject to marginalization. We believe these powerful groups should be centered in our community and are highly encouraged to apply. We are an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.
