Coordinator, Special Education - Elementary (2469)

The Natick Public Schools Seek a

Coordinator of Special Education

Start Date: 08/26/2024

We invite you to explore a career with Natick Public Schools.

The Natick Public Schools educate approximately 5,300 students from Pre-K through age 22. We are an innovative, supportive, and high-performing district whose outstanding staff provides high quality services for our diverse students and their families from Natick and Boston. Natick Public Schools is a community dedicated to all students achieving high standards in a safe, trusting, respectful environment where learning is exciting, dynamic, and engaging, and where connectedness and belonging are valued and actively cultivated. We are home to families that speak almost 60 different languages and our student population is approximately 29% Students of Color and 71% White students. With a graduation rate of 97% and 90% of our students attending post-secondary schools, we are proud of our commitment to excellence in educating students to be informed and successful citizens of a global world.

We enthusiastically welcome educators to our district who seek and thrive in a diverse environment that focuses on the whole child in a strengths-based approach. Please partner with us in our mission to support the diversity of our school community, promote and deliver equitable practices for all of our staff, students, and families, and create meaningful connections that enable everyone to feel included and thrive.

Job Title

Special Education Coordinator

Location

Memorial

Reports To

Principal, Director of Student Services and/or Assistant Superintendent of Student Services.

Work days/FTE

School Year 183 days/1.0 FTE

Salary/Benefits

Salary and benefits per collective bargaining agreement with the Education Association of Natick

Benefits Eligible?

Yes

JOB GOAL: Profile of a Natick Educator

The Special Education Coordinator is the lead building administrator for all Special Education Programs and Services.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Master's preferred

Professional Certification:

• MA DESE licensure in Special Education

• MA DESE SEI Endorsement

• Additional certification in general education and/or ESL highly desirable

Specialized Knowledge:

• Understanding of child/adolescent development

• Knowledge of best instructional practices for students with special abilities

• Thorough understanding of the development and implementation of Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) for students

• Through understanding of district, state, and federal policies and regulations as they relate to students with disabilities

• Ability to identify both formal and informal assessments that measure student skill level and conceptual understanding of academic, social-emotional, and behavioral benchmarks

• Ability to evaluate/analyze formal and informal data in order to provide recommendations based on data

• Thorough understanding of and commitment to the principles and practices of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice as they relate to student engagement and opportunity

Preferred Experience:

• Experience working in a diverse public school setting preferred

• Experience working with students with disabilities/special abilities

• Experience working with students with academic, social-emotional, and/or behavioral needs

• Experience supervising and evaluating staff preferred

• Experience working with students who are English language learners preferred

• Experience with Google Suite (Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Classroom, etc.) and PowerSchool preferred, but will train the right candidate

Skills

• Demonstrated aptitude for work to be performed

• Bilingual skills, especially in Spanish and Portuguese, are highly desirable

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Candidates should have a passion for working with students, families, and colleagues

• Candidates must be flexible and collaborative

• Candidates must be able to multitask in a fast-paced, supportive environment that nurtures student growth

• Candidates must be organized and able to meet ongoing, time-sensitive deadlines for work production

Alternative degrees/experience may be substituted for the above at the discretion of the Superintendent, if such a substitution brings a strong candidate forward.

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT USED

• Phone, intercom, personal computer and software applications as outlined above, scanner, copy machine, calculator, camera, printers and fax machine.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF THE JOB (not limited to)

The information contained in this job description is for compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and is not an exhaustive list of the duties performed for this position. Additional duties are performed by the individuals currently holding this position and additional duties may be assigned.

• Ensures that all services for students identified with special needs are met.

• Provides professional development activities and in-service training to staff regarding instructional practices, accommodations, modifications, and provision of services to students.

• Share supervision and evaluation responsibilities with Building principal and/or Director or Dept. Head

• Dependant on the level of administration and number of students within a building, the evaluation responsibility may differ for each Coordinator.

• Organize and facilitate regular special education staff meetings within the building.

• Coordinate and supervise curriculum and programming for special education students within the building, inclusive of co-teaching, inclusionary, pull out, and sub-separate programming.

• With building administration, coordinate scheduling and accommodations for special education students.

• Schedule TEAM meetings including Initial Evaluations, Re-evaluations, Manifestation Determinations and Independent evaluation reviews.

• Attend required Coordinator/ETL weekly meetings.

• With building principals and Director, participate in the process to recruit and hire student services staff.

• Assists with the oversight of the distribution of special education paraprofessionals to meet the needs of the IEPs within the building.

• Chair IEP TEAM meetings-primarily for eligibility meetings and complex cases following the Natick Public Schools TEAM meeting process guidelines and Department of Education Regulatory guidelines.

• Coordinate with the Special Education Evaluation Team Leaders to ensure smooth transition and IEP planning from level to level.

• Collaborate with special education administration to assess district needs and program development as needed.

• Review and monitor student IEPs in accordance with the state and federal due process requirements, including required written parental notifications within mandated timelines.

• Develop and provide quality control of Individualized Education Programs generated from the building.

• Assist with monitoring of IEP development and implementation, including providing input related to the effectiveness of school personnel involvement in the IEP TEAM meetings and IEP implementation.

• Maintain compliance with all Special Education timelines and regulations.

• Attend professional conferences and workshops to maintain current Massachusetts regulations.

• Demonstrate the ability to acknowledge problems and to resolve them in positive ways.

• Foster optimal parental input through such activities as obtaining Parent's Vision Statement and Post Team Meeting Parent Survey

• Provide consultation to general and special education staff, parents and outside agencies relative to special education procedures and programs.

• Work with district and school leadership to combat systemic barriers that limit student, family, and staff members' equitable access to opportunity.

• Identifies and addresses bias and its impact on rigor and opportunity for students and staff

• Updates policies and equitable access procedures

• Complete other related tasks as assigned by Principal, Director of Student Services and/or Assistant Superintendent of Student Services

WORK ENVIRONMENT AND PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. The employee must be able to perform the essential functions of the job satisfactorily and, if requested, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue hardship.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to:

• move about the classroom, school, school grounds, office, and/or off-site locations.

• On some occasions, it may be necessary to move quickly across even or uneven surfaces;

• remain in a stationary position for periods of time;

• operate a computer and other school/office productivity machinery (i.e., iPad, copy machine, computer printer, assistive technology, etc.);

• read material from a computer monitor as well as handwritten or printed matter with or without visual aids;

• position oneself to maintain files and access school/classroom/office materials;

• communicate with others so that information received and given is understood and accurately communicated;

• communicate and collaborate effectively with students, parents, and other staff members in person, via video conference, on the telephone, and/or in writing;

• observe details at close range

• in the school setting, ensure the safety of students;

• multitask and meet multiple demands from several people;

• may need to teach and support students with life skills development such as eating, cleaning, and toileting

• lifting up to and including 25 lbs

• the noise level in the work environment is moderate to loud.

SELECTION GUIDELINES

• Formal application

• Rating of education and experience

• Oral interviews

• Reference check

• Strong record of work performance in current and previous roles required

• Successful completion of Criminal Records Check (C.O.R.I.), Sexual Offender Record Check (S.O.R.I.), and fingerprints.

The Natick Public Schools do not discriminate on the basis of age, race, creed, color, religion, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, physical and intellectual differences, immigration status, homeless status, or any other class protected by law.