High School Director of Student Services (SY24-25)

Capital City is looking for innovative, experienced, and passionate staff members for the school year 2024-2025. 

At Capital City, we challenge the status quo every day. Our staff are skilled, compassionate, solutions-oriented, and unwavering in their commitment to give children of all ages, all backgrounds, and all abilities the education they need to thrive. If you want to help prepare the next generation of changemakers, apply today!

This role is a 12-month position, which is exempt and therefore not eligible for overtime pay under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Why work at Capital City?

• Work hard and achieve results, together! At Capital City, staff members work on collaborative teams that grapple with challenges, celebrate successes, and support and learn from one another.
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion aren’t just buzzwords. We believe the diversity of our staff and the students we serve is our greatest asset. We take seriously the responsibility to achieve equity for our students and build a culture where staff engage in dialogue about race and work to build an inclusive culture. 

About the Director of Student Services position:

The Director of Student Services (DSS) is responsible for overseeing the needs of students with disabilities (SWDs) and English Learners (ELs) within our inclusion model. The DSS is responsible for the hiring and supervision of inclusion teachers, case managers, and dedicated aides on their campus. The DSS is responsible for coordinating programming and working closely with the EL Specialist to monitor EL progress. The DSS coordinates summer school and serves as the summer school principal. The DSS is also responsible for enforcing school policies as they relate to discipline collaboratively with the Coordinator of School Culture (MS, HS) and other administrators. The Director of Student Services reports to the LEA Director of Special Populations and works closely with and takes direction from the Principal and LEA Director of Special Populations. 

Specific responsibilities in the following categories include: 

Curriculum/Planning

• Leading the inclusion staff in planning engaging curriculum with multiple entry points for SWDs to support them in accessing grade-level standards and meeting IEP goals.
• Identifying resources needed to provide curricular supports and accommodations for ELs and SWDs (ie, texts at different reading levels, bilingual texts, audiobooks, supplemental math resources).
• Ensuring and monitoring monthly consult and inclusion planning time where inclusion staff meet with teaching staff to plan for instruction, monitor student goals, and discuss the needs of unidentified students.
• Developing and implementing a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) to support struggling learners

Instruction

• Designing and providing training for inclusion teachers in specially designed instruction (SDI), accommodations, modifications, and other learning needs 
• Supervising inclusion teachers and ensuring that they provide effective instruction to students using a variety of strategies for diverse learners.
• Supporting general education teachers, inclusion teachers and specialists in providing accommodations and supports for students in special populations through monthly consultation (Consult), classroom observations and feedback and professional development.
• In conjunction with the EL Specialist, supporting general education teachers, inclusion teachers and specialists in providing strong instruction and best practices for English Learners.
• Meeting regularly with the Principal, Instructional Coach & Curriculum Coordinator, and Chief Inclusion Officer  to ensure instructional consistency, clear expectations and a coordinated data-driven approach to supporting teachers and students. 

Assessment

• Ensuring educational testing recommended as a result of a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) occurs timely, meeting all legally mandated timelines.
• Overseeing and ensuring accommodations for standardized assessments as well as classroom and school assessments.
• Ensuring inclusion teachers conduct assessments on progress towards IEP goals and report progress to parents. 

Professional Development

• Designing (as needed) and participating in Summer Institute and Wednesday PD and overseeing participation of inclusion teachers and staff.
• Ensuring that in-house professional development considers the needs of English learners, students with disabilities, or other diverse learning needs
• Leading and/or coordinating professional development for the entire staff on best practices for addressing the needs of diverse learners
• Overseeing logistics and obtaining necessary approvals for external professional development for inclusion staff.
• Providing professional development through Wednesday PD, Consult, observation and feedback.  

Discipline/Social Curriculum

• Working with teaching staff to implement a positive approach to discipline keeping in mind the needs of students with disabilities.
• Holding Manifestation Determination Reviews as needed in accordance with school policy and legal mandates for students with disabilities facing long-term suspensions or expulsion.
• Developing and implementing a tiered approach to discipline. Utilizing restorative practices to the extent possible. (Lower School)
• Implementing and enforcing the school’s discipline policy and developing logical consequences for minor student infractions (Lower School).
• Keeping the Principal informed of suspensions (Lower School).
• Coordinating peer mediation with the School Counselor and/or other designated staff (Lower School)

Human Resources/Personnel 

• Evaluating the performance of inclusion teachers, case managers, and dedicated aides according to Capital City procedures; sharing evaluations with Human Resources (HR) and the Chief Inclusion Officer.
• Making staffing recommendations based on program needs and staff performance.
• Coordinating hiring for inclusion positions including assembling interview teams and working with HR to ensure that candidates are contacted and references are checked. Recommending candidates for hire to the Principal. 
• Meeting and communicating regularly with inclusion staff.   Conducting fall, mid-year and spring conferences with staff.  

Parent Outreach/Communication

• Involving parents in the MTSS, 504, and IEP processes. 
• Working to inform all parents about our inclusion program and the MTSS process of identifying students suspected of having disabilities.   
• Ensuring IEP progress reports are issued to parents on a quarterly basis and translated as needed.
• Accommodating parents when meetings are scheduled.
• Coordinating with the Language Access Team to ensure translation and interpretation services are applied as appropriate.
• Supporting parents in understanding the special education and evaluation process.

Compliance

• Being knowledgeable of IDEA as well as informed and current on SPED regulations and requirements.  Meeting all required timelines and deadlines and submitting data and documentation as requested.
• Participating in and/or facilitating MDT and IEP meetings.
• Ensuring teachers and other service providers understand timelines and compliance requirements and are held accountable for meeting them. 
• Meeting regularly with case managers, transition coordinators (as applicable), EL specialists, dedicated aides, counselors, etc.  to monitor program fidelity 
• Meet regularly with the Chief Inclusion Officer to review compliance, programmatic needs, and evaluation timelines.

Desired Qualifications:

Minimum required qualifications: Bachelor’s degree and at least one of the following:

• A Masters degree in education or special education
• Five of more years of middle/high school teaching experience with Special Education students and/or ELs in an Inclusion setting
• Special education certification is strongly preferred
• Experience working with diverse student populations is strongly preferred
• Spanish speakers are encouraged to apply

In addition to the above requirements, staff members must meet the requirements of all hires at Capital City including a criminal background check.

About Our School

Capital City was founded in 2000 and currently serves a diverse population of nearly 1,000 students across PK-12th grade. We have been recognized as a model for social, emotional and academic development. Our program emphasizes a commitment to diversity and equity, a strong inclusion model and the integration of arts into the curriculum. We are a credentialed EL Education Mentor School (https://eleducation.org/) in the national network of over 150 schools. Through this model, teachers craft long-term learning expeditions that connect learning to the real-world and incorporate projects, research, fieldwork, and service to support students in meeting rigorous standards. Learn more at www.ccpcs.org.

Capital City is an equal-opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, marital status, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, disability, or any other protected status. All employment decisions will be made solely on the basis of the individual's qualifications as related to the requirements of the position being filled.

Capital City offers a competitive salary and benefits package. 

Competitive compensation. At Capital City, salaries compensate for experience and qualifications. Salaries are benchmarked regularly.

Benefits. Capital City invests in a comprehensive benefits package to support the happiness and well-being of staff at all stages of career and life. Benefits include 100% of health insurance covered for full-time employees, up to 6% in retirement contributions, preferred student admission for children of staff living in DC, and support for you and your family when needed.