About KIPP Chicago

At KIPP Chicago, we are guided by a simple, yet powerful mission: Together with families and communities, we create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose—college, career, and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world. Our campuses are located in the Austin, Englewood, North Lawndale, and West Humboldt Park neighborhoods. KIPP Chicago also advises over 2000 KIPP alumni currently in high school or college through our KIPP Forward program.  KIPP Chicago is the highest-performing network of schools in Chicago, as measured by our city’s school quality index.  We attract, develop, and retain a diverse and talented staff of educators. Our students and families choose our schools because our teachers are exceptional educators who work together as a collective to ensure students achieve and thrive.  For more data and information about our successes and vision for the future, visit www.kippchicago.org 

KIPP Chicago is looking for a dynamic and dedicated Lead School Psychologist to become part of a vibrant educational community. The Lead School Psychologist is specially trained to assess students’ strengths and weaknesses in order to contribute to educational planning and determine eligibility for special education services. They are a vital member of the evaluation and IEP team and an important part of region-wide planning as it pertains to enhancing outcomes for all students. 

The Lead School Psychologist will serve direct student needs across four of KIPP Chicago’s eight schools on the west and south sides. The role requires regular travel between campuses and ongoing collaboration and consultation with network-wide service providers in order to drive best practices in special education at KIPP region-wide.

The Lead School Psychologist will be a key contributor to the development of region-wide MTSS for all 8 KIPP Chicago schools, in collaboration with other regional leaders. This step toward a regional expectation for high quality MTSS across all schools is a major development and an exciting part of this role.

The Lead School Psychologist reports directly to the RSP Manager and serves as the main point of contact with any contractual School Psychologists serving the remaining campuses in the network.

The Lead School Psychologist position includes the following roles and responsibilities:

Supervision and Team Leadership 

• Serve as Clinical Supervisor, leading growth and development amongst members of the Multidisciplinary team.

• Manage contractual services, establish and maintain relationships with service providers and external partners. 

• Consult with school based teams in the development and implementation of classroom methods and procedures designed to facilitate student learning and to overcome learning and behavior disorders.

• Serve as a resource to school leaders and IEP Teams in areas related to instructional strategies, discipline, student social emotional needs and child abuse recognition and reporting. 

MTSS 

• Contribute to Multi Tiered Systems of Support initiatives at the school level and act as a resource for best practices in MTSS region-wide.

• Collaborate with Regional Team and School Leaders to standardize MTSS processes, progress monitor and drive academic outcomes.

• Lead Professional Development on topics related to Diverse Learning and MTSS.

• Serve as the Regional MTSS Coordinator for assigned campuses. 

• Identify essential roles for MTSS teams and collaborate with school leadership to ensure staffing of those teams at assigned campuses.

• Identify and direction set, build aligned enabling systems and progress monitor the execution of the MTSS process for assigned campuses. 

Assessment & Compliance 

• Collaborate with Lead School Social Worker, Case Managers, and Managing Director of Student Services in order to ensure implementation of best-practices region-wide.

• Identify students with disabilities through standardized assessment of student characteristics including intelligence, emotional adjustment, adaptive behavior, language development, learning potential and social needs utilizing non-discriminatory tools.

• Prepare comprehensive and defensible reports of each student assessed; interpret assessment findings for staff, parents, and other authorized persons as necessary.

• Participate in all assessment team meetings, including referrals, consent/assessment planning, evaluation eligibility determinations, and IEP / 504 conferences, in accordance with state and federal mandated timelines and procedures.

• Supervise related service providers in order to address needs as they arise and ensure compliance with Federal and State Mandates. 

KIPP Chicago Schools staff are supported in their demanding work by experienced and dedicated leadership who have themselves proven successful in the teaching role.  Our leaders maintain consistent school-wide systems and procedures -- academic, behavioral, cultural, logistical -- designed to permit staff to do their best work.

• Master’s degree in School Psychology (required)

• Valid Illinois Professional Educator License with School Psychology endorsement, or (former Type 73) State of Illinois School Service Personnel Certificate with an Endorsement in School Psychology (required)

• Knowledge of federal and state special education law and best practices for special education (required)

• Five years as a School Psychologist with leadership experience (preferred)

• Experience implementing and supporting MTSS programming and progress monitoring

• All KIPP Chicago staff are required to provide documentation of full Covid-19 vaccination by or before 10/15/2021, unless approved for medical or religious exemption. (Updated 8/24/2021).  

COMPENSATION

KIPP Chicago Schools offers a competitive compensation and benefits package: 

• Salaries based on experience

• Robust professional development

INTERVIEW PROCESS 

In accordance with current public health guidelines, the interview process during Spring 2021 for all KIPP Chicago position will be conducted remotely and will include a phone interview, submission of a performance task, and panel interview via Zoom with our team.  

STATEMENT OF NON-DISCRIMINATION

KIPP Chicago is committed to a policy of equal treatment for all individuals applying for employment. KIPP Chicago does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, sexual orientation, national or ethnic background. 

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.