Director of Education

Director of Education

Villa of Hope partners with individuals, families, and communities to rebuild relationships, recover potential, and renew hope for their future.

Position Grade: 86

Department/Program: Education/Villa of Hope School (Operational Leadership Team)

Supervisor: Chief Program Officer

FLSA: Exempt

Salary Range: $90,000-$100,000 (commensurate with education, certification, and experience)

Standard Weekly Hours: 35 (12-month)

Job Summary: Under the general direction of the Chief Program Officer, the Director of Education is responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of Villa of Hope School. Ensuring school compliance with all applicable state and federal laws, NYS Education Department (NYSED) regulations, and agency policies is required. Ensures compliance with the Villa of Hope and the NYS Justice Center Code of Conduct.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Cultivates the desired organizational culture of integrated Sanctuary Model and DEI&B in all aspects of essential functions and performance of duties.
• Leads and partners in the strategic planning process for the school in alignment with agency-wide strategic objectives. This includes monthly, quarterly, and annual planning, project management, and monitoring and reporting of progress and results via membership in the Operational Leadership Team and other workgroups, teams, or committees as assigned.
• Provides operational leadership to the school, including a framework for compliance and continuous quality improvement, policies and procedures, staffing, robust educational and vocational programming, and responsibility for financial and quality performance of the program.
• Ensures the highest quality of inter-disciplinary care and customer service for students and families through the intake, admission, enrollment, and discharge processes. This includes building a therapeutic relationship with every student and family, being a visible presence throughout the school, implementing NYS course and curriculum requirements, and overseeing the CSE process and provision of IEP services for all students.
• Coordinates and "owns" the process and compliance for all aspects of NYS testing: assessing needs, ordering exams, compliance with exam security and testing accommodations, scoring, and return of exams to districts.
• Ensures trauma-informed compliant processes and outcomes for incident management, including documentation, disciplinary outcomes when warranted, and communication to families, district representatives, and school staff.
• Functions as the hiring manager for the recruitment and hiring process, with attention to the value of diversity in the workplace. Ensures, supports, and provides (as needed or assigned) training, bi-weekly supervision, and professional development for all school staff. Develops and maintains acceptable standards of professional practice for all school staff.
• Builds and maintains collaborative partnerships with all stakeholders. Internal stakeholders include but are not limited to: nursing department, clinical leadership of school social workers, facilities operations, purchasing, talent & culture, training department, etc. External stakeholders include but are not limited to: NYS school districts; BOCES; NYSED; NYS Justice Center; 853 Coalition; COFCCA; and other human services organizations.
• Continuously and systematically pursues information and trends affecting the special education field and the operation of an 853 Day School in NYS.
• Partners with agency Grant Writer and/or outside providers/funders to fulfill reporting responsibilities for existing program grants. Assists in identifying and/or developing content for applications for new school grants.
• Other duties as assigned.

Position Specifics:

Education: Masters degree in Education. NYS School District Leader or School Building Leader Certification required. Additional certification in Special Education preferred.

Experience: Special education population/setting required. 3+ years of supervisory experience required. Prior administrative experience preferred.

Skills: Must be able to obtain and maintain certification as a trainer of Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) or Therapeutic Crisis Intervention in Schools (TCIS). Visionary and engaging leader. Exemplary verbal and written communication skills. Critical thinking, ability to organize and manage competing demands. Flexible and adaptable. Attention to detail. Ability to partner collaboratively with students, families, staff, and external stakeholders (ex: school district representatives, NYSED, Justice Center).

Physical Demands:

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• The following lists physical demands an employee will perform on a regular basis: standing, walking, sitting, bending, stooping, squatting, kneeling and climbing. Must be able to perform a variety of tasks, climb stairs, move throughout the building, work cooperatively in a team environment and quickly respond to emergencies.
• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully complete TCI trainer certification Training: the ability to drop repeatedly to knees, twist and turn, exert oneself physically at an intense level, and support another adult's weight.

Other: Knowledge of Federal and NYS laws and regulations in the areas of Special and Regular Education (especially Part 200). Familiarity with the contents of "the purple book" is preferred.

Travel: Occasional and mostly within NYS.