Strategic Integration Liaison, Special Education

Job Summary: Develop the capacity of the leadership team in Region 7 LEAs to effectively implement a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) or Inclusion program, process, and framework to promote positive student outcomes through LEA systems change.

Qualifications:   

Minimum Education/Training:  

Post Graduate Degree; major coursework in administration or related field is generally preferred.

Require Master's Degree in Special Education or a related field

Experience:       

10 years of educational experience in a professional capacity
Prefer central office or campus-level administrative experience.

Knowledge / Skills:

Ability to build, develop and inspire teams

Task execution (result oriented)

Build and cultivate relationships

Excellent communication
Financial knowledge

Working Conditions:

Must be able to maintain emotional control under stress

Cooperate with staff members and outside customers

Ability to multi-task

Irregular hours; prolonged periods sitting at a desk

Occasional travel

Majority of working conditions will be indoors

Primary Essential Functions

1. Collaborate and support Region 7 districts and charters to meet compliance through program evaluations to ensure improved outcomes for students with disabilities.
2. Provide leadership in the implementation of regional functions, grants, statewide initiatives, Special Education statewide networks and projects, and the Commissioner’s Priorities, in reference to disproportionate representation.
3. Plan and facilitate regional professional development for Region 7 customers based on requests and needs assessment data from district/regional data sources, including local education school personnel serving students with disabilities in special education programs.
4. Provide leadership and technical assistance to Region 7 customers in understanding and maintaining compliance with current Special Education federal and state laws, rules, regulations, and guidance, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Federal Accountability, Results-Driven Accountability (RDA), Differentiated Monitoring and Support (DMS), State Accountability (TPRS), and the State Performance Plan (SPP).
5. Analyze state and regional data to collaboratively develop the Special Education Continuous Improvement Plan (SECIP).
6. Demonstrate effective leadership in collaboration with LEAs, ESC 7 staff, other ESCs, and TEA through program assistance and activities designed to promote improved student performance.
7. Coordinate scheduled data analysis and implementation of targeted strategies that will have an immediate impact on outcomes for students with disabilities including Significant Disproportionality, appropriate identification, discipline, least restrictive environment (LRE), evaluation, and compliance.
8. In collaboration with other ESCs, will research, develop, and produce professional development materials, tools, resources, and training-of-trainers guides that will be distributed to all 20 ESCs.
9. Collaborate with supervisors to maximize funding by monitoring expenditures to meet programmatic needs.
10. ESSENTIAL FUNCTION #1: Executive Coaching and Systems Level Change: Support school systems to understand, design, and implement systems change that integrate supports and resources for students with disabilities into new and existing systems within the school.

Activities:

• Work with LEA leadership teams to increase the knowledge, skills, and motivation of LEA teams utilizing a fidelity of implementation rubric for systems change.
• Jointly facilitate meetings with LEA leadership teams using the gradual release process which includes current state analysis, multi-year strategic planning, goal setting, and implementation planning.
• Utilize data analysis and LEA input to create a plan for systems change that includes sustainability of progress to identify a problem, reflect critically on end-user input, root causes and potential solutions, and maintain a cadence of internal accountability.
• Align LEA strategic goals, activities, and priorities with the Texas Education Agency (TEA and ESC ecosystem of support.
• Curate statewide resources tailored to the LEA-specific needs to support the implementation of MTSS and Inclusion.
• Ensure quality data collection and submission of metrics and other applicable project reporting.

1. ESSENTIAL FUNCTION #2: Collaboration: Manage, support, and/or collaborate directly with TEA, ESC, and LEA staff to develop and disseminate effective resources, products, and materials that are intentionally designed to support school systems to understand, design, and implement effective systems-level change.

Activities:

• Support LEAs with Inclusion or MTSS systems-level change management by providing executive-level coaching and supporting the LEA with facilitated continuous improvement.
• Coordinate or provide LEA leadership learning opportunities through targeted professional development, implementation of support, coaching related to Inclusion and MTSS, and ongoing connection and integration of Texas Strategic Leadership (TSL), Effective Schools Framework (ESF), Effective Districts Framework (EDF), High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM), Texas Instructional Leadership (TIL), any other TEA initiatives, and resources/services provided by the ESC.
• Embed appropriate use of collaborative problem-solving to achieve program goals (i.e., Design Thinking, 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) processes, executive systems coaching).

1. ESSENTIAL FUNCTION #3: Professional Development: SILs continuously engage in their own growth and learning by attending and engaging in high-quality professional development.

Activities:

• Obtain all required certifications as a SIL, including but not limited to systems-level coaching, change management, and MTSS or Inclusion.
• Prioritize, protect, and attend all required ESC SIL week activities and participate in feedback loops and collaborative activities that connect policy and practice statewide. A maximum of three (3) SIL-week days may be missed for reasons other than personal leave with advanced approval from the TEA grant program manager. These days are not required to be consecutive.
• Engage in routine collaboration and coaching with the TEA and Lead SILs.
• Participate in ongoing professional development to build leadership, communication skills, and content knowledge to support continuous improvement and growth mindset.
• Participate and demonstrate content knowledge specifically connected to statewide initiatives such as Tiered Interventions using Evidence-Based Research (TEIR), Inclusion, school accountability, and improvement frameworks, TIL, and other TEA-aligned projects.

1. Reporting/Accountability

During year one, the TEA will work to develop metrics, determining how best to collect and report data consistently around SIL support and coaching. SILs will be expected to regularly collect and report data through Qualtrics or other data reporting platforms.

• Regular and reliable attendance.
• Daily monitoring of Administrative and Department procedures to ensure they reflect actual practice and assist employees in making needed changes.
• Other duties as assigned.

The above statements are intended to describe the general purpose and responsibilities assigned to this job and are not intended to represent an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required.

Funding

All Region 7 employees are at-will employees.  Because your assignment is funded by grants, federal funding, and/or special funding, your continued employment is expressly conditioned on the availability of funding for the position.  If funding becomes unavailable due to loss of state/federal funding or due to financial constraints of Region 7 ESC, your position is subject to immediate termination.

Salary : $88,988 - $119,738