Director of Student Information - Data Foundations

EXEMPT

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Director of Student Information – Data Foundations

$129,059 – $144,200 annually

Closes April 27,2025

The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) seeks a Director of Student Information – Data Foundations to join the OSPI team. This full-time position is based in Olympia, Washington. A minimum of three days in the in the office is preferred. This position may be eligible for a partial telework schedule. Telework is a combination of in-building and off-site days. We encourage interested candidates to visit the OSPI website to gain insight into our agency.

About OSPI and our initiatives

OSPI is the primary agency charged with overseeing public K–12 education in Washington state. Working with the state's 295 public school districts and 6 state-tribal education compact schools, OSPI allocates funding and provides tools, resources, and technical assistance so every student in Washington is provided a high-quality public education.

At OSPI, we recognize that our employees are the key to the success of the agency. We are committed to our work but value the balance with our personal lives. We demonstrate our commitment to employees by providing an environment that stimulates professional growth and values them for their expertise. OSPI is a great place to work and has several initiatives to help create a great working environment, including:

• We support a healthy work/life balance by offering flexible/alternative work schedules and mobile and telework options. (Depending on job duties and work location.)
• We have an Infant at Work Program that is based on long-term values of newborns and infant-parent bonding. Eligible employees who are new parents or legal guardians can bring their infant (six weeks to six months) when returning to work. (Depending on job duties and work location.)
• We value and are actively involved in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within OSPI by way of cross-divisional, collaborative committee. The focus of the committee includes employee engagement and education; reinforcing OSPI values; and maximizing the value of diversity and identifying strategies for inclusion.

Vision, Mission, and Values 
 Vision: All students prepared for post-secondary pathways, careers, and civic engagement.
 
Mission: Transform K-12 education to a system that is centered on closing opportunity gaps and is characterized by high expectations for all students and educators. We achieve this by developing equity-based policies and supports that empower educators, families, and communities.

Values: Ensuring Equity, Collaboration and Service, Achieving Excellence through Continuous Improvement, Focus on the Whole Child

Equity

Each student, family, and community possesses strengths and cultural knowledge that benefits their peers, educators, and schools. Ensuring educational equity:

• Goes beyond equality; it requires education leaders to examine the ways current policies and practices result in disparate outcomes for our students of color, students living in poverty, students receiving special education and English Learner services, students who identify as LGBTQ , and highly mobile student populations.
• Requires education leaders to develop an understanding of historical contexts; engage students, families, and community representatives as partners in decision-making; and actively dismantle systemic barriers, replacing them with policies and practices that ensure all students have access to the instruction and support they need to succeed in our schools.

Position Overview

The Director of Student Information- Data Foundations provides strategic leadership and management to the team of analysts supporting standardized data reporting, including meeting state and federal reporting requirements. They provide data to inform policy, support school district’s use of data, facilitate public reporting of data, and inform decision-making by the OSPI executive team. The Director position supports the Assistant Superintendent for Data Strategy and Student Information by ensuring that the Student Information – Data Foundations unit provides timely, accurate, and meaningful reporting and analysis of student data. Success in this role will result in making progress on strategic goals for the agency, including a Committed, Unified, and Customer-Focused OSPI; supporting school districts through consistent, timely, and meaningful support that center the needs of students.

Key Responsibilities

• Facilitating and guiding key changes or initiatives that impact the work of the Student Information – Data Foundations team; overseeing and conducting supervisory processes; removing barriers for completing work; developing and maintaining key partnerships; overseeing OSPI’s sharing and standardized reporting of student data; CEDARS leadership and student data owner; and public reporting of student data. 

• Ensures departmental collaboration and coordination with all other agency divisions, supporting the alignment of the agency mission, vision, values, and strategic goals and priorities in partnership with division and agency leadership. 

• Lead the team through consistently utilizing communication and problem-solving behaviors, including but not limited to listening for understanding, influencing, consensus building, and collaboration, moving from conflict to consensus, and leading work to timely completion consistent with stated objectives. 

• Make sure staff are aware of and comply with the required training, documentation, and processes necessary for employment at OSPI. Ensure staff have access to additional professional development resources as needed to effectively perform their jobs and achieve their professional goals.

• Identify, prioritize, and guide critical changes or new initiatives that impact the work of Student Information, particularly areas that involve multiple staff members and different functions within the Student Information unit or other departments in OSPI. Ensure new work is communicated to the Assistant Superintendent in a timely and complete manner. 

• Discuss and explore various approaches to undertaking new work, ensuring it is completed effectively within time and resource constraints. 

• Oversee the process for sharing student data, including data sharing agreements and public records requests to ensure compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and alignment to agency priorities. Provide guidance on how the FERPA applies to data use, reporting, and sharing at OSPI. 

• Ensure OSPI meets its state and federal requirements for public data reporting, including the Washington State Report Card under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and Washington state statutes. 

• Ensure that CEDARS data collection and reporting are appropriately authorized; serve as a leader of the CEDARS stakeholder meetings; serve on OSPI’s data leadership and management committees and as an OSPI representative on the K-12 Data Governance Group. Facilitate collaboration among data stewards and work with them to resolve or inform data issues. 

• Develop and maintain critical partnerships within OSPI and with other state agencies, school districts, professional organizations, and university-based researchers to support work related to student data. Facilitating conversations that demonstrate the ability to listen, process, and provide feedback when needed about data quality or anomalies; data sharing; data analysis, data use, and education research. 

• Maintain the highest standards of personal, professional, and ethical conduct and supports the organization’s goals for diversity, equity, and inclusion while advancing the work of Student Information. 

• Perform other duties as assigned and consistent with the goals and objectives of this position.

Required Qualifications: 

• A bachelor’s degree with significant emphasis in data, statistical analysis, research, or education. 

• A minimum of five years of experience working with education data at the national, state, regional, or local level. 

• Three years of experience providing leadership to a team at a building, district, or organizational level.

A combination of education and experience may substitute for the minimum education requirement.

In addition to those required qualifications, our ideal applicant will also have some or all of the following:

• Experience providing successful oversight and accountability for accurate and clear data reporting. 

• Experience with project management involving multiple work streams, policy implementation, and numerous stakeholders 

• Strong commitment to Washington state public education and the principles of trust, teamwork, collaboration, and customer service. 

• Proven commitment to equitable outcomes for students, culturally responsive practices, and leadership in support of the agency’s mission, vision, and values. 

• Flexibility, adaptability, and comfort with ambiguity 

• Ability to manage competing priorities and requests

• Supervisory experience 

• Six years of experience leading education data analysis, data visualization, and/or support for educational programs and/or schools. 

• Graduate degree with emphasis in education, statistics, evaluation, or research 

• Effective communication skills, both orally and in writing, with a variety of audiences including public forums, school districts, and other state agencies regarding student data. 

Compensation
The annual compensation for the position is $129,059 – $144,200 per year and depends upon experience, educational background and qualifications. Geographic differentials may be applied based on work location of successful candidate. Washington State offers a generous benefit package including health, dental and life insurance, retirement and an optional deferred compensation program. Please visit Health Care Authority for information regarding health benefits and the Department of Retirement Systems for retirement plan information. This position serves at the pleasure of the Superintendent, and is Civil Service Exempt. This position is not represented by a bargaining unit.

Application Process

• A letter of interest specifically addressing the qualifications listed in this announcement; 
• A current résumé, and;
• A list of three or more professional references.   

Please address any questions to:

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
600 Washington Street Southeast 
Olympia, Washington 98504-7200
(360) 725-6278; sal.salazar@k12.wa.us
 
Persons needing accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format may contact the Human Resources Office at (360) 725-6270 or (360) 725-6066, or e-mail hroffice@k12.wa.us.

New Jobs Alert Service

OSPI offers a subscription service, which regularly notifies subscribers of new OSPI employment opportunities on careers.wa.gov. Subscribers are notified via text or email alert. If you are interested in this service, then please subscribe at this location. 

OSPI is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from job seekers who will contribute to our diversity. OSPI provides equal access to all programs and services without discrimination based on sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. If you would like, please include your name and gender pronouns in your application, to ensure we address you appropriately throughout the application process. Persons needing accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format may contact the human resource consultant listed in “Application Process.” 

Salary : $129,059 - $144,200