Special Education Coordinator

TITLE: SPECIAL EDUCATION COORDINATOR

TYPE: Chicopee Education Association Unit B Category I

SALARY: Per the Unit B Collective Bargaining Agreement

STATUS: Non-Exempt

WORK YEAR: 12 Months

REPORTS TO: Director of Special Education

OBJECTIVE:

The Special Education Coordinator supports the Director of Special Education in the development, coordination, supervision, and evaluation of a comprehensive continuum of special education programs and services. The Coordinator provides districtwide leadership to ensure students with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE) and that all programs operate in compliance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The essential duties and responsibilities listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.

The Special Education Coordinator will -

Program Development and Oversight

• Support the development, implementation, and evaluation of inclusive and substantially separate special education programs, including alternatives to out-of-district placements.
• Evaluate existing programs to determine effectiveness and recommend programmatic changes, staffing adjustments, supports, and curriculum enhancements as needed.
• Determine the need for new programs and services to meet student needs.
• Oversee program location changes, including the establishment of new classrooms or program moves between buildings, and supervise related staffing and logistical needs.
• Oversee and manage Extended School Year (ESY) programming.

Staffing, Supervision, and Leadership

• Analyze caseload data and determine equitable caseload assignments for special educators, Team Chairs/Evaluation Team Leaders, related service providers, and paraprofessionals.
• Work with district and building administrators to ensure appropriate staffing levels and assignments for the current and upcoming school years.
• Work with district and building administrators to ensure appropriate staffing levels and assignments for the current and upcoming school years.
• Address staff performance concerns through coaching, supervision, and corrective action, as appropriate.
• Participate in the recruitment, hiring, placement, and assignment of special education personnel.

Compliance and Regulatory Responsibilities

• Ensure district compliance with all applicable state and federal special education laws, regulations, and procedural requirements, including 603 CMR 28.00.
• Monitor, review, and maintain compliance of student records, IEPs, and service documentation.
• Disseminate updates regarding special education laws, regulations, and guidance to staff.
• Assist the Director of Special Education with matters related to the Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA), Problem Resolution System (PRS), and required federal, state, and local reporting.

Collaboration, Communication, and Professional Development

• Collaborate with the Director of Special Education, fellow coordinators, principals, and district leadership to support a cohesive and effective special education management team.
• Work collaboratively with families, community agencies, public and private partners, and out-of-district programs to support student services and placements.
• Review IEPs for newly enrolled students and coordinate placement, transportation, and programmatic support.
• Initiate, organize, and facilitate professional development and in-service training for special education staff.
• Attend professional conferences, workshops, and required meetings, including after-school and evening meetings.

Operational and Administrative Duties

• Assist in the preparation and submission of required reports and documentation.
• Manage annual ordering of inventory, including supplies, equipment, and instructional technology.
• Assist in summer operations, including coverage of the Special Education Office, interviewing staff, and coordinating summer testing or IEP meetings as needed.
• Maintain required certifications, including district-approved restraint training.
• Performing such other tasks as assigned by the Director of Special Education.
• Serve in a full-year (12-month) administrative role with availability for after-school, evening, and summer work as required.
• Maintain regular interaction with students, families, staff, administrators, and external agencies.
• Travel among district buildings and external sites as necessary.

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 teaching or supervising in the field of Special Education
• Must be trained, or willing to be trained, in the deescalation 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 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 position requires traveling between school buildings within the City.

ADA & MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS TO PERFORM ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Physical Requirements: Must be physically able to operate a variety of equipment including computers, copiers, 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, squat 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 the nature of sounds by ear.) Must be able to communicate via telephone.