The Natick Public Schools Seek a

Special Education Administrator

 

We invite you to explore a career with Natick Public Schools. 

 

The Natick Public Schools educate approximately 5,300 students from Pre-K through age 22. We are an innovative, supportive, and high-performing district whose outstanding staff provides high quality services for our diverse students and their families from Natick and Boston. Natick Public Schools is a community dedicated to all students achieving high standards in a safe, trusting, respectful environment where learning is exciting, dynamic, and engaging, and where connectedness and belonging are valued and actively cultivated. We are home to families that speak almost 60 different languages and our student population is approximately 29% Students of Color and 71% White students. With a graduation rate of 97% and 90% of our students attending post-secondary schools, we are proud of our commitment to excellence in educating students to be informed and successful citizens of a global world. 

 

We enthusiastically welcome educators to our district who seek and thrive in a diverse environment that focuses on the whole child in a strengths-based approach. Please partner with us in our mission to support the diversity of our school community, promote and deliver equitable practices for all of our staff, students, and families, and create meaningful connections that enable everyone to feel included and thrive.

 

Job Title	Special Education Administrator	Location	Wilson MS
Reports To	Principal, Director of Student Services and/or Assistant Superintendent of Student Services.	Work days/FTE	193 days/1.0 FTE
Salary/Benefits	Salary and benefits per collective bargaining agreement with the Education Association of Natick (linked)	Benefits Eligible?	Yes
JOB GOAL: Profile of a Natick Educator
The Special Education Coordinator is the lead building administrator for all Special Education Programs and Services.  The primary job goal of a building-based special education administrator is to oversee and manage the effective delivery of special education services within a school. This includes ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local regulations, coordinating and monitoring the development and implementation of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), supporting and training staff in best practices, and fostering an inclusive, supportive environment that maximizes educational outcomes for students with disabilities. Additionally, this role involves leading school and district strategic planning by using data-driven insights to shape a clear vision and guide the continuous improvement of special education programs and overall school performance.

 

 

 

QUALIFICATIONS

 

Education: Master’s preferred 

 

Professional Certification:

• MA DESE licensure in Special Education
• MA DESE SEI Endorsement
• Additional certification in general education and/or ESL highly desirable 

Specialized Knowledge: 

• Understanding of child/adolescent development
• Knowledge of best instructional practices for students with special abilities
• Thorough understanding of the development and implementation of Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) for students
• Through understanding of district, state, and federal policies and regulations as they relate to students with disabilities
• Ability to identify both formal and informal assessments that measure student skill level and conceptual understanding of academic, social-emotional, and behavioral benchmarks
• Ability to evaluate/analyze formal and informal data in order to provide recommendations based on data 
• Thorough understanding of and commitment to the principles and practices of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice as they relate to student engagement and opportunity

 Preferred Experience: 

• Experience working in a diverse public school setting preferred
• Experience working with students with disabilities/special abilities 
• Experience working with students with academic, social-emotional, and/or behavioral needs
• Experience supervising and evaluating staff preferred
• Experience working with students who are English language learners preferred
• Experience with Google Suite (Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Classroom, etc.) and PowerSchool preferred, but will train the right candidate

Skills

• Demonstrated aptitude for work to be performed
• Bilingual skills, especially in Spanish and Portuguese, are highly desirable
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Candidates should have a passion for working with students, families, and colleagues
• Candidates must be flexible and collaborative
• Candidates must be able to multitask in a fast-paced, supportive environment that nurtures student growth
• Candidates must be organized and able to meet ongoing, time-sensitive deadlines for work production

Alternative degrees/experience may be substituted for the above at the discretion of the Superintendent, if such a substitution brings a strong candidate forward.

 

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT USED

• Phone, intercom, personal computer and software applications as outlined above, scanner, copy machine, calculator, camera, printers and fax machine.

 

Lead building administrator for all Special Education Programs and Services

 

Ensures that all services for students identified with special needs are met.

 

Serve as a member of the school building administrative leadership team.

 

Provides professional development activities and in-service training to staff regarding instructional practices, accommodations, modifications, and provision of services to students.

 

Share supervision and evaluation responsibilities with the Building principal and/or Director or Dept. Head

• Depending on the level of administration and number of students within a building, the evaluation responsibility may differ for each Special Education Administrator
• Special Education Administrator will serve as primary or secondary evaluator for all special education staff including service providers, special educators and paraprofessionals.  

 

Organize and facilitate regular special education staff meetings within the building.

 

Coordinate and supervise curriculum and programming for special education students within the building, inclusive of co-teaching, inclusionary, pull out, and sub-separate programming. 

 

With building administration, coordinate scheduling and accommodations for special education students.  Leading up to and during summer months, evaluate classroom rosters to maintain appropriate special education to general education ratios in the inclusion environment.  

 

Schedule TEAM meetings including Initial Evaluations, Re-evaluations, Manifestation Determinations and Independent evaluation reviews.

 

Attend required Special Education Admin weekly meetings.

 

With building principals and Director, participate in the process to recruit and hire student services staff.

 

Assists with the oversight of the distribution of special education paraprofessionals to meet the needs of the IEPs within the building.

 

Chair IEP TEAM meetings-primarily for eligibility meetings and complex cases following the Natick Public Schools TEAM meeting process guidelines and Department of Education Regulatory guidelines. 

 

Coordinate with the Special Education Evaluation Team Leaders to ensure smooth transition and IEP planning from level to level. 

 

Collaborate with special education administration to assess district needs and program development as needed.

 

Review and monitor student IEPs in accordance with the state and federal due process requirements, including required written parental notifications within mandated timelines.  

 

Develop and provide quality control of Individualized Education Programs generated from the building.

 

Assist with monitoring of IEP development and implementation, including providing input related to the effectiveness of school personnel involvement in the IEP TEAM meetings and IEP implementation.

 

Maintain compliance with all Special Education timelines and regulations.

 

Attend professional conferences and workshops to maintain current with Massachusetts regulations.

 

Serve on district Administrative Council (AdCouncil) and attend meetings as scheduled.  

 

Demonstrate the ability to acknowledge problems and to resolve them in positive ways.

Foster optimal parental input through such activities as obtaining Parent’s Vision Statement and Post Team Meeting Parent Survey

 

Provide consultation to general and special education staff, parents and outside agencies relative to special education procedures and programs. 

 

Maintain on-going special education data including teacher and service provider caseloads, IEP referral/initial evaluation, master staffing documents and master caseload data to correlate with powerschool special programs information.  

 

Analyze and interpret special education student data performance to inform instructional practices and interventions to address academic and other students gaps in performance

 

During additional contract days: 

• Monitor and record incoming IEP signatures, evaluation consents and parent contact.  When appropriate, meet with families to support transition back to school for the start of the upcoming school year.  This does not include IEP Team meetings.  

• Attend district meetings including Adcouncil retreat in summer

• Lead or participate in summer hiring process

• During summer months, evaluate classroom rosters to maintain appropriate special education to general education ratios in the inclusion environment. 

 

Complete other related tasks as assigned by Principal, Director of Student Services and/or Assistant Superintendent of Student Services.

 

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 job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to move around school buildings, sit and talk or hear.  The employee is occasionally required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; and reach with hands and arms. 

 

The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.

 

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

 

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 

The noise level in the work environment is reasonably quiet.

 

SELECTION GUIDELINES:

 

Formal application, rating of education and experience; oral interviews and reference check.

 

The duties listed above 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. 

 

This job description is subject to change in a manner consistent with law by the employer as the needs of the employer and requirements of the job change.  

 

TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT:

Hold and maintain Special Education Administrator MA DESE License

 

Salary and benefits in accordance with the UNIT B EAN collective bargaining agreement

 

EVALUATED BY:

 

Principal, Director of Students Services, or Assistant Superintendent of Student Services

 

 

The Natick Public Schools do not discriminate on the basis of age, race, creed, color, religion, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, physical and intellectual differences, immigration status, homeless status, or any other class protected by law.