Student Support Services Coordinator (Cox Academy, Latitude)

REPORTS TO: Director of Special Education and Student Support Services

Position Summary

Education for Change is looking for dynamic and visionary instructional leaders with a special education background who will engage students, staff, and families to ensure high student achievement.

The Student Support Services Coordinator is a full time, site based position. The Student Support Services Coordinator collaborates closely with the principal and Student Support Services/ Special Education department in communicating and supporting the mission of Education for Change, maintaining the focus on high student achievement for all students, creating a collaborative, results-oriented professional learning community, analyzing and responding to data, supporting teachers in their growth, and evaluating and responding to the effectiveness of interventions and instructional practices. In addition, the Student Support Services Coordinator assists with training for site staff in instructional support methods for students with disabilities and special education compliance. They engage community partners and families in serving the whole child and ensuring ALL children achieve at high levels prepared to succeed in any setting. They should know how to successfully work in an urban K-12 school with a high English Learner and low-income population, including students who have experienced trauma.

Our Approach

EFCPS is committed to serving ALL students, regardless of need. Our approach addresses the diverse needs of our students by offering a myriad of program designs to meet individual needs. We offer inclusion, resource instruction, combined programs that include both inclusive and small group instruction, and specialized programs for students with autism, those in need of emotional supports, and students with more moderate needs. Utilizing a Multi-Tiered System of Supports, our multidisciplinary team works collaboratively to analyze and problem solve around student and staff needs. We employ a whole child approach that not only meets the basic needs of our students, but also takes into consideration their socio-emotional, academic and behavioral needs.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Leadership

• Collaborate with other Student Support Services Coordinators and school site leaders to ensure alignment across school sites in systems and implementation of programs.
• Iterate and implement EFCPS network wide Student Support Services systems.
• Evaluate and analyze complex problems, issues, concerns and recommend appropriate alternative solutions to make effective and timely decisions.
• Create a culture where the staff works as a dedicated professional team.
• Other duties as assigned.

Special Education

• Serve as the LEA coordinator for the school site, interfacing with the Director of Special Education.
• Establish and maintain an instruction- and results- oriented professional learning community.
• Serve as liaison between student support services staff and school site leadership. Represent student support staff and act as a voice for students with diverse learning needs. Advocate for student support services staff needs. Involve student support staff in decision making appropriate to the situation including school site planning, committees, etc.
• Responsible for compliance related to initial, annual, and triennial IEPs for site.
• Work with school site principals and home office student support services leadership to lead, manage, and evaluate effectiveness of special education program and use data as the driver for PD, teacher support, and programmatic shifts.
• Coordinate transition IEPs for incoming students, including 30-day transfer IEP’s. Serve as contact for incoming students.
• Lead the Learning Lab Team:
• Provide direction, coaching and support for education specialists, speech and language pathologists, clinicians, paraeducators, and other service providers.
• Develop agendas and facilitate weekly Learning Lab team meetings.
• Create Learning Lab procedures and resources.
• Collaborate with Learning Lab Team to coordinate special education services:
• Support with scheduling of services, ensure schedules meet required minutes;
• Ensure all service providers have rooms to serve students;
• Coordinate space/time for collaboration between various service providers.
• Ensure appropriate testing accommodations for all statewide testing, assessments related to IEPs, and teacher made assessments.
• Ensure parent engagement and understanding throughout the IEP process.
• Attend complex IEP meetings.
• Serve as Administrative Designee at IEP meetings as needed (is qualified to provide or supervise the provision of specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of individuals with exceptional needs, is knowledgeable about the general curriculum, and is knowledgeable about availability of resources of the LEA).
• Other duties as assigned.

Coordination and Oversight of the Coordination of Services Team, Interventions, and Student Study Teams

• Lead the Coordination of Services Team (COST) to oversee referral of students requiring support (academic, speech/language, and social emotional/behavioral), timely implementation of interventions, the progress monitoring of students receiving interventions, and the evaluation of intervention effectiveness.
• Ensure COST systems and procedures (including data tracking and communication) are communicated to all stakeholders (including school staff and parents).
• Plan, lead and facilitate COST meetings.
• Oversee the management of COST (triage students, action steps, eight week follow up)
• Manage multiple moving parts and layers of MTSS so that all parts work cohesively and systems/ processes are in place to be both proactive and responsive to changes.
• Maintain detailed records and use appropriate data bases.
• Assist in designing, coordinating and monitoring implementation of research-based interventions aligned to a multi-tiered intervention framework. Facilitate effective integration of educational, clinical, and behavioral program components.
• Monitor student performance data of those receiving interventions and communicate a sense of urgency around student academic needs.
• Engage caregivers in the educational process through formal training and workshops and by providing frequent opportunities to discuss student growth and needs.
• Ensure there is a Student Study Team (SST) process in place and that a multi-disciplinary team considers, plans, and assesses general education interventions and supports for individual students experiencing academic, speech/language, and/or social emotional/behavioral difficulties. Ensure parent participation in SST meetings and meeting documentation/record keeping.
• Partner with Principal and Instructional Coaches to align intervention services.
• Work to support interventionists and staff to build capacity for supporting students.
• Effectively collaborate with community partners and leverage resources for organizational success.
• Other duties as assigned.

Section 504 Plans

• Ensure compliance with EFC Section 504 Policy and ensures LEA meets its responsibilities under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that include identifying, evaluating, and providing Section 504 eligible children access to and participation in curriculum, buildings, programs, and activities.
• Case manage student 504 plans (including the scheduling and facilitation of initial and annual meetings, coordination with parents, teachers, and school staff, meeting documentation, tracking and record-keeping, and progress monitoring).
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Valid California Education Specialist Credential, Pupil Personnel Service Credential or Administrative Services Credential
• A Master’s degree in Education, Psychology, Social Work, a related field, or equivalent experience
• BCLAD or CLAD certification, highly desirable
• A demonstrated record of effectively leading other adults in creating change
• Experience as a teacher leader, instructional coach, or site leader
• Knowledge of the Common Core standards and instructional practices aligned to those standards
• Experience accelerating student learning and achievement in low-income communities
• Experience and desire to use data and technology as levers to drive instruction
• Must possess a growth mindset and be able to use feedback to refine practice
• Successful experience working in a collaborative environment
• Experience working with diverse communities
• Bilingual-Spanish preferred

EFCPS Core Values

• Connected- We continually work to build trusting relationships among students, families, staff, and the Oakland community at large. We are an all-hands-on-deck network driven by empathy. We value our collective identity and the individual identities of our community members and scholars such that we have a sense of collective ownership and responsibility for each other and for our scholars.
• Inclusive- We proactively disrupt predictable patterns of opportunity, power, privilege, and performance. We create an inclusive environment where multiple perspectives are not only valued but sought, where people from all backgrounds feel seen and heard and can thrive, and where we all feel a deep sense of accountability to our mission.
• Interdependent- Our success at every level is dependent on our individual and collective sustainability. To that end, we are transparent, creative, and collaborative problem-solvers who seek to build trusting relationships. We are curious and are open to new ideas while also putting systems in place to ensure continuity so that our employees can stay, grow, thrive, and help make good on our promise to our students and families.
• Learners- We support each other to develop and grow so that we can leverage our collective power, intelligence, and passion on behalf of our students. We lean on home-grown leaders who are rooted in our community. Individuals feel known and are provided opportunities to maximize their potential in alignment with their passions and goals.