Director of Integrated Special Education

At Rocketship Public Schools, we believe in the infinite possibility of human potential. We believe that every student deserves the right to dream, to discover, and to develop their unique potential and it is our responsibility and our privilege to unleash the potential inside every Rocketeer we serve. Our non-profit network of public elementary charter schools propels student achievement, develops exceptional educators, and partners with parents who enable high-quality public schools to thrive in their community. We are a collective of parents, teachers, leaders, and students working together to transform the future for underserved communities across our country. At Rocketship Public Schools, we are unleashing potential.

Based in the Bay Area and reporting to the Senior Director of Personalized Learning & Achievement, the Director of Integrated Special Education (ISE) will be a key strategic leader on the Schools team and critical to driving forward the quality of and vision for Integrated Special Education within Rocketship. Rocketship currently has thirteen elementary schools in the Bay Area serving 6,600 total students of which just over 500 are students with disabilities. The Director of ISE will manage a team towards ensuring that all Rocketeers are served in a compliant, effective and high-quality environment, with the goal to achieve 1.5 years of growth in both math and literacy.

In addition, with this team, the Director of ISE will strive to continue to establish Rocketship as the premier national model for meaningful inclusion among charter schools and traditional districts. At Rocketship, we aim to aggressively support and resource our ISE team and work. The Director of ISE will be entrusted to manage the special education program resources such that schools and the Bay Area region will achieve financial self-sufficiency at scale, meaning they will operate solely on public dollars. The Director of ISE will also manage Rocketship’s Integrated Special Education service provider teams (including Speech and Occupational Therapy), the program specialist team and additional department support employees. The Director will provide on-site support, consultation and coaching for school teams in order to meet and exceed all network goals and initiative.

The Director of Integrated Special Education must work relentlessly to drive on key network initiatives which include instructional excellence for all students, department compliance and collaborative practice to ensure all students at school sites receive the top-notch education and supports they need and deserve.

Essential Functions

• Serve as a trusted strategic partner to the Senior Director of Personalized Learning & Achievement, Schools Team and the ISE Network Support team, providing support to maintain the high achievement levels of all Rocketeers.
• Develop and lead a high performing team of special education team members toward supporting schools and school leaders across multiple sites; ensure exceptional outcomes for students with unique learning and behavioral needs; model and sustain a culture of high performance and service orientation among team members.
• Attract, hire, develop and motivate an Integrated Special Education team of highly skilled and driven individuals who execute at the highest level of excellence and consistent with the culture and mission of the organization; oversee training and support for school-based staff in serving students with Special Needs and other core areas.
• Implement, develop, and manage Rocketship’s vision and approach to Integrated Special Education in collaboration with all key stakeholders; ensure high-quality outcomes for students with unique learning and behavioral needs, within present and envisioned future scale of the network; fortify Rocketship Education’s continued presence as the premier national model of meaningful inclusion and leader in the field for effective, efficient and high-quality services for students with special needs.
• Create, evaluate, enforce and maintain policies, systems and procedures across the network that meet the highest standards of compliance; stay abreast of current special education policies and best practices for all regions and demographics; ensure all internal special education policies and procedures meet and exceed federal, state, local authorizers; and, meet LEA or SELPA guidelines and recommendations; provide on-site support to schools regarding any compliance matters pertaining to students, authorizers or otherwise.
• Own the budgeting and planning processes in collaboration with the Senior Director of Personalized Learning & Achievement; develop plans that are consistent with Rocketship’s long term self-sufficiency goal; recognize resource constraints, while at the same time always making decisions that support the goal of closing the achievement gap.
• Design and execute professional development opportunities related to special education for a range of audiences (school leaders, special education teachers, general education teachers, etc.); design and lead regular team meetings and routines, which inspire ISE team leaders to support the vision for special education services in Rocketship schools; facilitate learning and sharing of best practices related to special education and student services across Rocketship’s regional special education teams.
• Identify, understand and secure resources across the network that support the mental health needs of Rocketeers; manage relationships with external stakeholders providing mental health services in Rocketship schools; provide oversight for coordination of services.
• Support the consistent implementation of evidence-based behavior, social-emotional and academic interventions in Rocketship schools; create user-friendly resources that support school leaders in the implementation of these interventions; design and implement professional development opportunities to build school leader capacity to implement a multi-tiered system of behavioral supports in Rocketship schools; conduct professional development for school leaders in a manner that deepens the partnership with Rocketship’s School Management team, ensuring alignment between school-wide culture, behavior supports and supplemental interventions.
• Serve as an ambassador of Rocketship Education internally and externally – from school directors to funders to authorizers; create deep partnership by communicating proactively, knowledgeably and passionately about Rocketship Education’s mission and core characteristics, as well as Rocketship’s vision for inclusive special education and services.
• Maintain a close working relationship with other members of the Network Support Team (NeST—Rocketship’s centralized office that operates in support of its schools and regions), school directors, and all school staff (teachers, school leaders, support staff, etc.) to ensure exchange of best practices, coordination of efforts, data driven decision-making, and general support for the Integrated Special Education department.
• Ensure the Integrated Special Education Team is viewed as integral to the organization’s mission, aligned with Rocketship’s Core Characteristics (Innovation, Pursuit of Excellence, Authenticity, Community, and Tenacity), not as bureaucratic obstacles to serving the needs of the students.
• Collaborate with Rocketship’s recruitment team to ensure the Integrated Special Education Team is fully staffed with high quality professionals in all departments to ensure students are served across campuses; establish contracts with contractors to provide related services, as needed.
• Create development plans for all direct reports to ensure rigorous professional growth goals are met and exceeded; Provide/suggest professional development opportunities and direct coaching for all direct reports.

Requirements

• Valid Special Education teaching credential or administrative license; Master’s degree in Special Education or related field strongly preferred.
• Successful experience managing special education instructional and compliance initiatives across multiple school sites.
• Demonstrated track record of improving academic outcomes for students with disabilities.
• Embrace the mission of Rocketship Education and our inclusive approach to serving students with disabilities.
• Knowledge of federal and state laws and regulations associated with special education.
• Experience working with students with a range of disabilities (learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders, autism, etc.).Experience implementing student supports through a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) Experience working with elementary-age students (strongly preferred)Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic work environment.
• Ability to be flexible and adaptive in a work environment that is constantly evolving.
• Perform a variety of specialized and responsible tasks: maintain records, establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with students, parents, other school personnel, meet schedule and compliance deadlines.
• Possession of a valid driver’s license: willingness to provide own transportation in conduct of work assignments as you will be required to travel from site to site to work with students and faculty at all sites.