Senior Director, Special Populations (ISE & MTSS)

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.

Position Description

Reporting to the SVP of the Program, the Senior Director of Special Populations (Integrated Special Education and Multi-Tiered System of Supports) is an organizational leader responsible for driving forward the quality of and vision for Integrated Special Education and the gap-closing instruction for students across the tiers of intervention within Rocketship. This leader will further establish Rocketship as the premier national model for tiered interventions and meaningful inclusion among charter schools and traditional districts.  By partnering with other organizational leaders, setting vision and direction, leading a high-performing team, and ensuring excellence in operations and finance, this leader will have a profound impact on the nearly 10,000 Rocketeers in our network, including approximately 10% of students currently receiving special education services.

The following are responsibilities related to the position:

• Implement, develop, and manage Rocketship’s vision and approach to ISE and MTSS in collaboration with all key stakeholders; ensure high-quality outcomes for students with unique learning and behavioral needs within the present and envisioned future scale of the network.
• Develop and design core MTSS  for the national program and support regions with customization, coaching, and implementation of the MTSS system for their region.
• Continue to 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.
• Develop an effective approach to curriculum, instruction, and assessment which leads to rapid growth for across the Tiers and for students with disabilities respectively; 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.
• Serve as a trusted strategic partner to the SVP of Program, providing support to maintain the high achievement levels of all Rocketeers.
• Serve as an ambassador of Rocketship Public Schools 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 ISE department.

• 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 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 for ISE; develop plans that are consistent with Rocketship’s goals; recognize resource constraints, while at the same time always making decisions that support the goal of closing the achievement gap.

• Support the consistent implementation of evidence-based academic, behavior,  and social-emotional interventions across five regions; 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 academics, behavioral, and social-emotional 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.
• Lead and manage the 504 Plan practices (meetings, systems, supports), policies, and resources for all regions.
• Manage the implementation of the 504 Plan, ensure robust MTSS/RTI frameworks, and guide the service delivery across Speech, Occupational Therapy, and School Psychology disciplines. Develop and refine policies and practices that align with national compliance standards and support educational excellence.
• Work closely with internal and external stakeholders to uphold standards in IEPs and 504 Plans. Foster relationships with district partners and regulatory bodies to ensure adherence to legal and educational guidelines.
• Develop the systems, structures, and resources to identify students needing tiered interventions, assessment tools to support the identifying and progress monitoring, and the tied curriculum interventions.

• Coach and develop a team of regional ISE and MTSS leaders  respectively to ensure successful implementation in each of Rocketship’s five regions.  As needed for the region, this might include direct management of  ISE instructional and MTSS leaders respectively.
• Design and execute professional development opportunities related to ISE and MTSS for a range of audiences (school leaders, special education teachers, general education teachers, paraprofessionals, etc.); design and lead regular team meetings and routines, which inspire team leaders to support the vision for these services in Rocketship schools; facilitate learning and sharing of best practices related to ISE across Rocketship’s regional teams.
• Collaborate with Rocketship’s recruitment team to ensure the ISE and MTSS teams are 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 or in conjunction with regional team members for their direct reports to ensure rigorous professional growth goals are met and exceeded; Provide/suggest professional development opportunities and direct coaching for all MTSS & ISE team members.

• A deep belief in the mission and educational model of Rocketship Public Schools and our inclusive approach to serving students with disabilities with the ability to work in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial, flexible and autonomous environment;
• A minimum of 5 years of successful experience managing special education and compliance initiatives with a track-record of successful instructional expertise in realizing high levels of student achievement in a complex, multi-site, multi-regional environment;
• A minimum of 5 years of successful experience managing general education and/or tiered interventions and compliance initiatives with a track-record of successful instructional expertise in realizing high levels of student achievement in a complex, multi-site, multi-regional environment;
• A minimum of 5 years of people management experience including a track record of developing leadership in others,
• Experience navigating cross-functional organization relationships and achieving results through influence and collaboration,
• Knowledge of federal and state laws and regulations associated with special education and successful application across multiple cases;
• Experience working with students with a full range of disabilities (learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders, autism, etc.) and with elementary-age students (strongly preferred).
• Strong pedagogical, culturally responsive, and personalized learning skills to effectively innovate upon the current approach and systems to achieve greater student achievement outcomes and opportunities, whilst constantly thinking about, innovating upon and implementing new strategies and approaches to our meaningful inclusion approach in order to always ensure that the Rocketship model offers our Rocketeers and families the most robust learning experience;
• Valid Special Education teaching credential or administrative license; Master’s degree in Special Education or related field strongly preferred.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk, hear, and communicate with both adults and children. The employee frequently is required to use hands or fingers, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls. The employee is frequently required to stand; walk; sit; and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds and occasionally climb ladders. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus. The noise level in the work environment is moderate to high.

Compensation:

Commensurate with qualifications and experience, plus excellent health and wellness benefits, 403b retirement plan, flexible spending account (FSA), and generous paid time off.

Rocketship Public Schools provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. Rocketship Public Schools complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Rocketship Public Schools expressly prohibits any form of unlawful employee harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of Rocketship Public Schools’ employees to perform their expected job duties is absolutely not tolerated. Click here for our Sexual Harassment Policy.  For questions, concerns, or complaints, please contact Human Resources.