Special Education Coordinator (Anticipated 2024/2025 SY)

TITLE: Special Education Coordinator ANTICIPATED JOB OPENING FOR THE 2024/2025 SY
TYPE: Unit B, Category I
WORK YEAR: 200 Days
SALARY: Per Unit B Collective Bargaining Agreement
REPORTS TO: Director of Special Education

OBJECTIVE: The Special Education Coordinator supports the District in providing special education programming and services that will give the optimum learning opportunities for special education students in the least restrictive environment.

Assists the Director of Special Education in the development, supervision, coordination, and evaluation of all special education programs. Embraces the philosophy and practices of the Special Education Department. Promotes and implements special education regulations.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Carries out a district-wide vision for all schools that includes a philosophy of inclusionary practices and free appropriate public education (FAPE).
Collaborates with the Director of Special Education and fellow Special Education Coordinators to form and maintain a special education management team.
Supports Building Principals in developing inclusive practices so that students can be educated in the least restrictive environment possible.
Evaluates existing programs as to their effectiveness and recommends changes and/or additional staff, supports, and curriculum wherever deemed necessary; determines the need for new programs and services.
Develops alternatives to out-of-district placements whenever possible.
Works with community agencies that support and enhance the work with special education students.
Determines caseloads of special education staff and works with administration to provide adequate and equitable special education staffing.
Supervises and evaluates Evaluation Team Leaders; maintains accurate figures of caseload assignments, as well as, reads and reviews IEPS.
Assists in the supervision and evaluation of other special education staff.
Meets regularly with staff members and with those whose work is deficient and work with them to correct these deficiencies.
Initiates and develops professional development programs for some special education staff
Participates in the hiring process for new special education staff.
Maintains compliance and standards of excellence for professional performance and program development.
Ensures that student service records are in compliance, organized, and maintained.
Monitors and disseminates information on State and Federal laws and regulations regarding special education students and services to staff.
Assists the Director of Special Education and Legal Compliance Officer in attending to all matters related to the Board of Special Education Appeals (BSEA) and the Problem Resolution System (PRS).
Assists in the preparation of all federal, state and local reports.
Cooperates fully with public and private agencies, support services, and parents.
Attends afterschool meetings, working beyond school hours when necessary, including but not limited to attending evening meetings such as School Committee, Parent Advisory Council, etc.
Performs such other tasks as assigned by the Director of Special Education.
REQUIRED MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Experience
Master's degree or higher from an accredited institution.
A valid Massachusetts educator license as a Special Education Educator and Administrator.
Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsement.
Experience in public education, part of which must have been in the teaching or supervising in the field of special education.
Must be trained, or willing to be trained, in the de-escalation and physical restraint techniques utilized by the District.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Knowledge and ability to implement Special Education regulations.
Ability to be flexible to work and communicate with parents, teachers, students and administrators to effect desired outcomes.
Ability to understand the climate of the special education department and to work effectively in different situations.
Ability to acknowledge problems and to resolve them in positive ways.
Ability to set high personal standards that staff and other administrators respect.
Ability to be flexible to work with principals, parents, teachers, and other administrators to effect desired outcomes.
This job requires traveling between school buildings within the City.

ADA and MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS TO PERFORM ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS
Physical Requirements: Must be physically able to operate a variety of equipment including computers, copiers, adding machines, etc. 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. Must be able to stand, crouch and bend over for a long period of time at intervals throughout the day.
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, newsletters, schedules, manuals, invoices, requisitions, menus, recipes, journals, etc. Requires the ability to prepare correspondence, reports, forms, evaluations, procedures, charts, surveys, articles, bid specifications, brochures, news releases, handbooks, budgets, 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 a variety of technical or professional languages including medical, legal, accounting and marketing terminology.
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 algebra and geometry.
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.
Interpersonal: 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