Job Description

Description

Director of Special Education Job Description

About St. HOPE Public Schools 

Since 2003 St. HOPE Public Schools has passionately worked toward the mission of graduating self-motivated, industrious and critical thinking leaders who are committed to serving others, passionate about lifelong learning and prepared to earn a degree from a four-year college. St. HOPE Public Schools includes three charter schools: PS7 Elementary School, PS7 Middle School, and Sacramento Charter High School located in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento. 

We’ve raised the bar and our schools are producing extraordinary results with closing the achievement gap and helping our scholars reach their fullest potential. Our student demographics have a much higher percentage of minority and low-income scholars, yet our state testing scores show much better results than District averages. A few examples of how our model is succeeding include: 

● Sacramento Charter High School was recognized by the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) for being the highest performing High School for black students in the state of California. 

● PS7 and Sacramento Charter High School were named California Education Champions by the National Action Network for being 2 of 16 predominantly African American schools that performed in the top 25% of all schools in California, and each scored a 10/10 when compared to similar schools. For context, this year there were a total of 90 predominantly African American schools in California, of which 70 performed in the bottom 25% of all schools. 

● PS7 has twice been named a Title 1 Achievement Award winner, and has been recognized as a California Distinguished School and as a federal Blue Ribbon School nominee for its educational outcomes with low-income students. 

● In 2020, 93% of Sac High scholars were accepted into four-year colleges and we are proud to have among the highest percentage of scholars admitted to UCs and CSUs in the Sacramento region. 100% of our scholars graduated meeting UC/CSU requirements compared to district and state averages of 44%. 100% of our scholars with an IEP graduated meeting UC/CSU requirements compared to district averages of 12% and state average of 15%. 

At St. HOPE Public schools we believe in the power of the classroom teacher and know that having three years in a row of excellent teaching can overcome the average achievement deficit between low-income scholars and others. We consistently ground ourselves in this belief and prioritize collaboration so that we are building upon scholar success year after year. Alignment is essential - we work hard to ensure different teachers, grade levels, curriculums, and academic focus areas are all coordinated and working together coherently. We take the time needed with our teachers to plan out curriculums that transition smoothly across grades, and foster a collaborative work environment with consistent expectations and support across grades and campuses. 

➔ At PS7 Middle School, our results highlight the power of three years of good teaching. Our 6th graders enter our system with only 9% of our scholars on or above grade level in math compared to the district average of 25%. Then after spending three years at PS7 Middle that same group of scholars promotes from 8th grade with 48% of scholars on or above grade level in math compared to the district average of 32%. This same trend is evident in English Language Arts with our 6th graders entering our system with 25% on or above grade level and promoting from 8th grade with 57% on or above grade level compared to the district average of 43%. 

In addition to prioritizing academic achievement, we prioritize school culture. We host several engaging scholar and family events throughout the school year, and we seek to provide a well-rounded experience for our scholars with far more elective courses than are available at traditional schools. We value our teachers and offer every teacher a robust coaching and support plan in order to develop our teachers into the best possible educators. Their daily efforts are what make this learning environment as successful as possible for our scholars. 

In addition to St. HOPE Public Schools, St. HOPE is a family of nonprofits that also stands for economic growth and revitalization. One of St. HOPE’s most prized development projects in Oak Park is the 40 Acres Art and Culture Center on Broadway unveiled in 2003. The project involved refurbishing the old Guild Theater and Woodruff Hotel Buildings at 35th street and Broadway, a building that had been vacant. 40 Acres currently includes the Guild Theater, Underground Books, Old Soul Co., twelve loft apartments, and it’s newest addition, Fixins Soul Kitchen. 

Although St. HOPE Public Schools has come a long way in the last 18 years, there is still so much more to accomplish. St. HOPE Public Schools looks forward to continuing its vision of being one of the finest urban TK-12 public school systems in the nation and seeks outstanding individuals who are committed to this journey and willing to do whatever-it-takes to provide our scholars with the best education possible! Our future depends on it. Our scholars deserve it. 

Ready to Join the Team? 

The ideal candidate will bring passion and grit to the mission and vision of St. HOPE Public Schools and a desire to positively impact the Oak Park community and help close the achievement gap for our scholar population. They will have a willingness to learn, grow and work hard along the way. At St. HOPE Public Schools, we live by five key pillars: 

High Expectations- You not only set the bar high for every scholar, but also for yourself. You possess a clear vision for what excellence looks like for scholar work, scholar behavior, and your craft. 

Choice & Commitment- You understand how your work impacts life outside of your office or classroom. You wake up every morning and commit yourself to doing what's best for our scholars. 

More Time- You are one of those people that goes above and beyond in all areas of life. Some people may even say you do too much, but you know that more time equals better results. 

Focus on Results- Everything you do is done with purpose because you are dedicated to growth. You believe in data and work tirelessly to reach your goals. You are a problem solver and find feedback empowering. 

Power to Lead- You are a natural influencer. You can't help but train and nurture scholars and peers. People are attracted to you because of the way you equip them to succeed. 

Responsibilities of the Director of Special Education will include: 

● Plan, organize, and direct a variety of programs, projects, and activities related to special education. 

● Support Education Specialists with the development of student Individual Education Plans and ensure that each student’s program reflects the current IEP. 

● With the assistance of General Counsel, Human Resources, and the El Dorado Charter SELPA, represent the distric in special education legal proceedings; investigate complaints, and report findings and recommendations as appropriate. 

● Perform student services activities involving special education students in areas of attendance, transfers, suspension and expulsion procedures, and other related areas. 

● Direct the preparation and maintenance of a variety of narrative and statistical reports, records, and files. 

● Communicate with school leaders, other St. HOPE personnel, and contractors to coordinate programs, resolve issues and conflicts, and exchange information. 

● Facilitates development and alignment of differentiated standards-based college-preparatory curriculum to meet the diverse needs of individual scholars 

● Designs and implements team-wide instructional framework and expectations 

● Plans and delivers engaging, effective professional development 

● Observes, coaches, and gives clear, actionable and individualized feedback to teachers and staff as assigned

● Oversees the administration of multiple forms of assessments to measure and improve teaching and learning on a daily basis 

● Supports the team in using student performance data to drive all aspects of the teaching and school program 

● Provides intensive intervention for struggling teachers or staff 

● Establishes, articulates and teaches the vision, mission and values of the organization and the school site 

● Builds and maintains school and team culture with an emphasis on building an inclusive culture 

● Promotes collaboration and encourages team members to cooperate and coordinate efforts

● Evaluates performance of self and direct reports regularly 

● Selects and retains a highly effective staff 

● Pursues and secures additional resources to increase opportunities for school and students 

● Uses communication systems and styles that proactively engage key stakeholders 

● Is accessible, visible and responsive to all stakeholders 

● Lead point of contact for families who have a concern with a staff member managed by you or classes overseen by you and ensures that families are well communicated with, are invested in our school program and that concerns or complaints are dealt with a quick, effective manner 

● Has a clear vision of high expectations for scholar behavior 

● Identifies target students, defines support plans as well as systems of accountability to ensure all scholars are held to high expectations 

● Plans, implements and oversees intervention program(s) 

● Attends IEP meetings as an administrator and ensures network wide compliance 

● Oversees the development and implementation of any special education plans such as the Program Improvement Review (PIR) and Disproportionality 

● Present at school-wide procedures for the campus located at for the day and holds 100% of scholars to school-wide expectations 

● Manages Special Education shared employees including School Psychologist and Speech, Language Pathologist to ensure school’s needs are met and the person is kept updated and informed on a consistent basis 

● Overssess SST & 504 Plans 

● Models the school’s values and sets the standard for professional behavior 

● Builds a professional work environment that is typified by hard work, respect and collaboration and includes a system of constant feedback, reflection and action 

● Works relentlessly with a Whatever-It-Takes attitude to ensure school-wide goals are met 

Qualifications 

Required: 

• Bachelor’s degree 

• Education Specialist Credential 

• Proven leadership skills and experience supervising and evaluating the performance of assigned staff

• Knowledge of exemplary teaching and the capacity to distinguish among poor, mediocre, solid and outstanding teaching 

• Exceptional availability to manage people and complex projects 

• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills 

• Strong strategic thinking and problem solving capabilities 

• Knowledge of laws, regulations, rules, and policies governing SHPS and the ability to apply them with 

good judgement. 

Highly Desired (but not required): 

• Master’s Degree in Education and/or Administrative Credential

• Bilingual speaking, reading, and writing abilities (Spanish) 

Salary 

● St. HOPE Public Schools offer a competitive salary and benefits commensurate with qualifications and experience. This is a full time exempt position. 

To Apply 

● All candidates for this position must submit the following two pieces of information. Please note you must submit both documents or your application will not be considered. 

1. Resume 

2. Thoughtful cover letter outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of this position and stating how you heard about this opportunity 

● Submit the application materials via the Careers page on our website at www.sthopepublicschools.org 

As an equal opportunity employer, SHPS prohibits unlawful discrimination, harassment, intimidation or bullying against any protected group, including actual or perceived discrimination, on the basis of the actual or perceived characteristics of age, ancestry, color, disability, ethnic group identification, gender expression, gender identity, gender, marital status, pregnant, parenting or lactating status, genetic information, nationality, national origin, immigration status, race or ethnicity, religion, sex, or sexual orientation, or on the basis of a person’s association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics in any SHPS activity, including hiring and employment.

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