2025-26 Manager or Director of Scholar Support (New Orleans, LA)

The internal priority application deadline is January 21, 2025 at 8:00 AM.

Context: The Manager or Director of Scholar Support Services will be responsible for ensuring all of Collegiate Academies’ scholar support goals are met. Success in this role means regulatory compliance and ensuring we are meeting the needs of all scholars. Additionally, this role will be responsible for close collaboration with school teams and partner organizations, rooted in ensuring all scholars attend school daily, achieve their academic goals, and receive what they need to graduate and matriculate to their desired rigorous post-secondary option. Note- you don’t have to have prior experience in a scholar support role to apply- we are all on the scholar support team!

About Collegiate Academies: Collegiate Academies prepares all students for lives of unlimited opportunity. Founded in 2008, Collegiate Academies serves over 3,000 students in five public high schools and two postsecondary programs in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. We serve a dramatically higher proportion of students with special needs, students who are English language learners, and students who are from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. We see the individual greatness of every student who comes through our doors.

Goals: The Manager or Director of Scholar Support, Compliance will report directly to the Senior Director of Scholar Support to ensure the following goals are achieved:

• 100% of students with diverse learning plans (LAP, 504, IEP, IHP, BIP) have plans completed in timeline and have compliant paperwork in alignment with programming.
• 100% of schools pass the compliance portion of their annual authorizer site visit
• 100% of potential funding streams (Medicaid, High Cost Services (HCS), Citywide Exceptional Needs Fund (CENF), etc.) are maximized through clear internal processes and systems.
• 100% of 1508 (initial and triennial) and 504 evaluations are completed within timeline.
• Data systems for compliance, funding and academic purposes are regularly maintained, clear and easily analyzed
• Strategic initiatives are well managed and achieve all major goals, benchmarks and deadlines.
• There are clear and consistent communication and collaboration platforms for service providers, school-based stakeholders, partners and relevant community members.
  
  

Responsibilities

Team Leadership:

• Operate with a Servant Leadership mentality. Meet the needs and wants of those you serve.
• Prize relationships and work to strengthen them constantly; build strong relationships characterized by deep care, mutual respect, and influence.
• Be thoughtful of yourself and others. Use empathy to drive support.
• Lean into the discomfort of tough conversations and interactions; always seek to understand and to solve.
• Be willing and excited to change on a dime.
• Generate and lead plans to create, improve, and sustain cultural excellence for students and staff.
• Act as a culture builder for student support programming and services in our network. Approach and coach teammates in real time around mindsets and skills.
• Give and receive feedback to and from all stakeholders you work with in pursuit of using each moment to learn and get better for the future.
  
  

Mindsets And Beliefs

• Believe to the core that all kids are capable of and deserve an excellent education.
• Operate with the core values of Collegiate Academies in all interactions. Make decisions with the mission of the network at the forefront of your mind.
• Hold all people (adults and students) to the highest expectations at all times.
• Exemplify a growth mindset (with yourself and others). Make constant, critical growth each day.
• Be thrilled to do what you do.
• Do whatever it takes to accomplish your goals and ensure those you support accomplish their goals.
  
  

Diverse Learner Programming Compliance

• Ensure 100% compliance of all diverse support plans and systems across Collegiate Academies Schools (IEPs, 504s, LAPs, IHPs, BIP, etc.).
• Manage all compliance data systems across Collegiate Academies, including the state system for students with disabilities (SER) and our internal tracking systems (Google Office). Work with staff across the network to ensure that 100% of needed documentation and data points have been captured within these systems.
• Lead schools in hitting annual deadlines, including 10/1 and 2/1 state counts, documentation and process setup for ESY and completing all IEP Progress reports.
• Lead schools in all student support based audits including, but not limited to internal audits (monthly IEP and eval, April Dunn, etc) and external audits ( IDEA, Title III, Medicaid, etc.)
• Ensure all internal information for student support needs is up to date and high quality, including updates of the latest forms, new or changing policies and other information for schools to access.
• Work with SDSS, Student Support Content Leads and other stakeholders to ensure that compliance systems continue to improve in their quality and more authentically fold into how we operate our schools and student support departments.
• Partner with schools to ensure maximum effective vision and follow through of critical roles and responsibilities outlined for IEP case management and 504 chairs/case managers.
  
  

Coaching & Development

• Build authentic relationships and establish trust with school-based leaders and teammates to understand their strengths and areas for growth and influence their work in pursuit of their goals
• Source or create the resources schools need, aligned to ambitious goals and compliant with all regulations (depending on responsibilities, this might include curriculum, data tracking systems, trainings and more)
• Partner with school-based leaders to ensure school teammates receive high quality coaching and development and know how to leverage support from the network. Work to develop school-based leaders so they can increase the ownership, innovation and success of their student support programming.
• Plan and deliver excellent professional development for school-based teammates, including effective follow-up, in response to identified needs (including needs that you identify through observation, data analysis and file review).
• Develop the knowledge and expertise needed to provide schools with answers and guidance that are rooted in legal policies and best practices. Continually develop knowledge and skills to support areas of innovation across schools in pursuit of continually evolving our practices to better serve students.
• Collaborate across functional teams to effectively meet the needs of our students including, but not limited to: curriculum, related services, finance, operations, and advancement.
• Support school leadership teams in maximizing funding from key funding sources to ensure we can provide even better services over time. Key funding streams include 10/1 and 2/1 students counts, the High Cost Services (Louisiana Department of Education funding stream) and New Orleans differentiated funding.
  
  

Reliability And Clarity

• In partnership with SDSS, manage student support team communications across the network, including content compilation and editing for the newsletter.
• Have strong personal organizational systems to be 100% reliable 100% of the time.
• Create long and short term plans to achieve individual and shared goals
• Constantly manage priorities and adapt when necessary to align actions with scorecard goals
  
  



Qualifications

Bachelor's degree

• 5 years teaching and leading in a K-12 school
• Special education certification or willingness to complete special education certification program
  
  

Additionally, CA Provides The Following Benefits

• Industry-leading comprehensive medical and dental coverage
• 403(b) Plan with a 3% match
• 6 weeks of breaks per year (plus additional federal holidays) for all employees, with an additional 6 weeks for most school-based roles.
• 12 weeks paid parental leave for primary and 6 weeks of secondary
• Up to $2,500 for out-of-state moving expenses
  
  

Salary

• The salary scale for a Manager position is $55,000 to $70,000.
• The salary scale for a Director position is $70,000 to $85,000.
  
  

To Apply

Please submit a resume and application online. In the application, you will be asked to answer the following questions. You may want to plan your answers in advance of beginning the application.

• How do you see this role as critical to the CA mission? (1-2 paragraphs)
• Describe a time in your career where you had to grow dramatically in your mindsets and skills to ensure you met your goals. What was challenging about this? How did you do? (2-3 paragraphs)
• Describe an instance in your professional life when you successfully influenced an outcome or influenced change when there was not a direct reporting relationship. How did you do it? (2-3 paragraphs)
  
  

Disclaimer

Collegiate Academies encourages individuals of all identities and backgrounds to apply for this position. We are an equal opportunity employer, fully committed to hiring a talented and diverse group of individuals. Collegiate Academies does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, creed, color, national origin or ancestry, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other category protected by applicable law. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. Being authorized to work in the U.S. is a precondition of employment. Collegiate Academies does not sponsor employment visas.