Director Of Exceptional Children

NORTHAMPTON COUNTY SCHOOLS JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE: DIRECTOR OF WHOLE CHILD AND

EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN SERVICES

GENERAL STATEMENT OF JOB

Under limited supervision, performs a variety of supervisory and administrative tasks in overseeing and monitoring the operation of programs for exceptional students in the Northampton County Schools. The role of this position is to assist in planning, developing, and implementing a comprehensive program for students with disabilities which assesses the needs of students, establishes objectives and priorities, assigns responsibilities to staff, and develops strategies to achieve stated objectives and evaluate programs. Reports to the Superintendent.

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Works in conjunction with the State Department of Public Instruction, the Office of Civil Rights, the Office for Special Education Programs, and various other state and local agencies to meet the needs of students; monitor contracts with individuals and agencies for special services not available through the school system; and ensure compliance of program with federal, state and local regulations.

Develops and implements standards, policies, and procedures related to exceptional children services.

Leads key instructional programming efforts for students with disabilities.

Consult when needed with school-based staff and central office staff on individual cases and the interpretation of federal, state and local policies and procedures.

Coordinate with local agencies, parents and school personnel to resolve problems and secure needed resources and services.

Monitor the progress of various services and make recommendations for change to the Superintendent.

Respond to calls and correspondence regarding all programs and services offered by the EC Department.

Supervise and conduct personnel administration duties for staff, including hiring and terminations, evaluating, assigning special duties, monitoring attendance and travel reports, and granting leave.

Assist in the preparation of budgets for programs.

Coordinates placement decisions for separate special educational classes via daily communication with school personnel and EC Program Administrators.

Determine available space in all classes and assign location of services for students in System Level Classes.

Supervise the use of The Comprehensive Exceptional Children Accountability System (CECAS) for the State Department of Public Instruction.

Supervise the CECAS Training and Data Manager.

Supervise and conduct the twice yearly Child Count submission to NCDPI and OSEP. Supervise and direct the implementation of the IEP writing software (EasyIEP).

Supervise the EC Network Analyst for EasyIEP

Supervise Medicaid billing and all changes to the system to meet the specific needs of Northampton County Schools.

Prepare and organize data for NCDPI, OSEP, Board of Education, Superintendent, media, and various other departments.

Provide direction, consultation, and supervision to Administrators and other EC central office personnel.

Consult with the school board attorney on individual cases when necessary.

Attends state level meetings regarding policies, procedures, and legal updates.

ADDITIONAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Actively involved in all day-to-day operations of the Exceptional Children Department Performs other related work as required.

MINIMUM TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE

Master's degree in special education, psychology, curriculum instruction or school administration with 5 to 7 years as a special education teacher or Exceptional Children's Program Specialist/Administrator with training and experience in district implementation of Foundations of Reading, Math Foundations and Responsiveness to Instruction.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

Possession of a valid North Carolina driver's license.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS OR STANDARDS REQUIRED TO PERFORM ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Physical Requirements: Must be physically able to operate a variety of equipment including computers, copiers, etc.

Must be physically able to operate a motor vehicle. Must be able to exert up to 10 pounds of force occasionally, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to lift, carry, push, and pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Light Work usually requires walking or standing to a significant degree.

Data Conception: Requires the ability to compare and/or judge the readily observable, functional, structural or composite characteristics (whether similar or divergent from obvious standards) of data, people or things.

Interpersonal Communication: Requires the ability to speak and/or signal people to convey or exchange information. Includes giving instructions, assignments or directions to subordinates or assistants.

Language Ability: Requires the ability to read a variety of correspondence, reports, forms, billing statements, etc.

Requires the ability to prepare correspondence, reports, forms, evaluations, budgets, purchase orders, etc., using prescribed formats and conforming to all rules of punctuation, grammar, diction, and style. Requires the ability to speak before groups of people with poise, voice control and confidence.

Intelligence: Requires the ability to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions; to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagrammatic form; and to deal with several abstract and concrete variables.

Verbal Aptitude: Requires the ability to record and deliver information, to explain procedures, to follow oral and written instructions. Must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in standard English.

Numerical Aptitude: Requires the ability to utilize mathematical formulas; to add and subtract; multiply and divide; utilize decimals and percentages; and to apply the principles of descriptive statistics and statistical inference.

Form/Spatial Aptitude: Requires the ability to inspect items for proper length, width and shape.

Motor Coordination: Requires the ability to coordinate hands and eyes rapidly and accurately in using office equipment.

Manual Dexterity: Requires the ability to handle a variety of items such as office equipment and hand tools. Must have minimal levels of eye/hand/foot coordination.

Color Discrimination: Does not require the ability to differentiate between colors and shades of color.

Interpersonal Temperament: Requires the ability to deal with people beyond giving and receiving instructions. Must be adaptable to performing under stress and when confronted with emergency situations.

Physical Communication: Requires the ability to talk and hear: (Talking: expressing or exchanging ideas by means of spoken words. Hearing: perceiving nature of sounds by ear.) Must be able to communicate via telephone.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Thorough knowledge of federal, state and local policies and procedures regarding exceptional children.

Considerable knowledge of School Board policies, procedures and standards regarding education.

Considerable knowledge of the ethical guidelines applicable to the position as outlined by professional organizations and/or federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations.

Considerable knowledge of the current literature, trends, and developments in the field of exceptional child education.

Considerable knowledge of the principles of supervision, organization and administration. Skill in counseling and developing staff.

Ability to use common office machines and popular computer driven word processing, spreadsheet and file maintenance programs.

Ability to maintain complete and accurate records and statistics and to develop meaningful reports from that information.

Ability to develop and implement appropriate programs for exceptional children. Ability to assess the effectiveness of programs and activities.

Ability to interpret educational policies and procedures. Ability to develop long-range plans and annual budgets. Ability to effectively express ideas orally and in writing.

Ability to make oral presentations before large groups of people.

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships as necessitated by work assignments.

DISCLAIMER

The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees to this job.