KIPP St. Louis is a growing network of free, open-enrollment, public charter schools offering a choice to families and a college-preparatory education to children in St. Louis city. Our mission is to serve as a catalyst for education reform by establishing and supporting a world class network of public schools that develop in all of our students the knowledge, skills, character, and pursuit of excellence necessary to succeed in high quality high schools and colleges and the world beyond. 

KIPP St. Louis currently serves over 2,300 students and at full growth, we will serve nearly 3,500 students and hundreds of alumni. Today, our St. Louis network is comprised of two middle schools, three elementary schools, and a high school:

• KIPP Inspire Academy, founded in 2009

• KIPP Victory Academy, founded in 2014

• KIPP Triumph Academy, founded in 2015

• KIPP Wisdom Academy, founded in 2015

• KIPP St. Louis High School, founded in 2017

• KIPP Wonder Academy, founded in 2019

Position Overview

The Special Education Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that all special education students receive comprehensive, compassionate and equitable services in order to achieve breakthrough academic achievement and character development.  The Special Education Coordinator will work with 2-3 school-based special education teams to assist teachers and staff in effectively implementing special education compliance for all students who receive special education services at the school level. All KIPP St. Louis staff have a responsibility for ensuring that every KIPP St. Louis student achieves the academic skills, intellectual habits, and character traits necessary to succeed in the nation’s top colleges and universities.

Position type: Full time, exempt, 10 month position

This position is a grant-funded position and is available for the 2022-20232 school year

You will love this job if you...

• Enjoy working alongside a group of dedicated, hard-working and passionate educators who will become your team and family

• Believe deeply in the mission and values of the region, subscribe to KIPP's five pillars and love working with elementary and middle school children

• Hold high expectations for all students and work relentlessly to foster the achievement of all students

Special Education Coordinator Logistics

• Collaborates on School Special Education Scheduling. Updates and maintains school special education schedule (mental health professional , speech and language, all special education  teachers, OT, PT). 

• Communication. Communicates with the mental health professional special education teachers, paraprofessionals,, and service providers regarding special education concerns and compliance.

• SpedTrack. Maintains central Special Ed Information Database for all schools in Spedtrack.

• Communication with Parents. Communicates regularly with families about progress of students and works with other special education teachers,mental health professional administrators to ensure communication is streamlined.

• Outside Providers. As appropriate, connecting with students outside providers, pediatricians, and therapists to support student’s needs in the classroom

Progress Monitoring and Data Collection

• Progress Notes. Prints and sends home special education progress notes 4 times yearly.

• Data Tracking. Maintains and updates school and LEA tracking and data system that includes: student information related to IEPs, services, assigned case manager, service minutes and hours, evaluations, special education referrals, progress monitoring, timelines in which evaluations were completed and discipline incidents documented. 

• Reporting. Gathering and reporting data for all reporting requirements concerning students with IEPs/504 plans and other required reports

Supervision and Coaching

• Supervise. Supervises the Paraprofessionals by working to create a schedule and leading a bi-weekly check-in

• Provide Feedback. Special Education teachers on their case management processes

• Feedback. Provide quarterly compliance feedback related to audits

• Collaboration with Teachers. Collaborating with teachers to develop effective whole group practices, small group interventions, and individualized learning activities

• Service Providers. Communicates frequently and works with supplemental service providers (OT, PT, SLP, paraprofessionals, any others) to ensure minutes are being met at a high level

• Manager of Special Education. Meets weekly with the Manager of Special Education to ensure communication is streamlined from school to region. Coordinator and MSE discuss any and all cases, scholars, situations, and progress related to special education scholars, families and staff

• Training. Provide training and technical assistance to case managers, teachers, related service providers and support service professionals on all aspects of case management: use of computer systems for the special education process, goal writing, progress reports, annual reviews and parent communication

• Onboarding: Provide more intensive guidance and support to new Special Education teachers and onboard any mid-year hires

Paperwork/ Compliance

• Laws. Ensuring compliance by the school with all local, state and federal laws and regulation relating to students with IEPs/504 plans and students referred to special education

• Federal and Local Policy. Maintaining a high level of knowledge regarding developing special education issues such as changes in federal and local special education policy 

• Files. Maintaining student files (paper and electronic) according to school and DESE standards

• High Need Cases. Assists with high-need student cases that involve special placement decisions or unique logistical issues (transportation, homebound instruction, etc.)

• Audits. Works with the Manager of Sped to monitor Special Ed paperwork including making corrections and adjustments based on quarterly audits completed by the region

• Disability Paperwork. Completes any disability paperwork for their scholars, distributes to appropriate teachers and faxes completed paperwork. In addition, ensures all paperwork is properly responded to and filed

• Compliance Contact. Serves as the direct contact for all compliance issues for the school

• Audits Paperwork for Meetings. Review all IEPs, REDs, Manifestation Determinations, NOA, PWN before meetings and coordinate with student’s special education team to ensure all documents are completed in a timely manner (according to state, local and school policies and procedures) prior to all Special Education meetings

• Team Preparation. Connect with school based special education teams to ensure all team members and parents are prepared for the content of the meeting

• IEPs. Ensure IEPs are developmentally appropriate, curriculum/standards -based, strength-based and relevant to individual students

• Discipline Documentation. Communicate with school leadership teams and track suspensions of scholars with IEPs and 504s. Communicate suspension with case managers and ensure all manifestation meetings occur appropriately

• Data Reporting. Gathers and reports data for all reporting requirements concerning students with IEPs/504 plans and other required reports

• Requesting and processing special education records from other districts for incoming transfer students

Parent or Teacher Referrals

• Point of Contact. Serves as the point of contact for any parent or teacher who has requested an evaluation (ie .evaluation, testing, IEP, special education, services, etc.) and communicates with the parent(s) regarding RED or team decision in terms of next steps

• Communication with Parents. Effectively communicating to parents and guardians the special education process including process for referrals, evaluations, annual IEPs/504 plans and re-evaluations as well as parental rights granted by IDEA

• Referral Process PD. Creates and leads professional development for teams (special education teachers, mental health professionals, service providers- as applicable, administrators, etc.) to ensure all team members respond to referrals appropriately and understand timelines

• Parent Referral Meeting. Ensures initial parent request informal RED meetings are held within the appropriate amount of time after a referral

• PWN. Ensures meetings are held and decisions are made in regard to parent/teacher referrals in the appropriate amount of time and that Prior Written Notices for denial of evaluation or otherwise are sent home

• Procedural Safeguards. Ensures procedural Safeguards and all other pertinent documents are sent home according to compliance timeline post- referral

• Communication with Evaluator(s). Completes all required information and paperwork for Initial Evaluation or Reevaluation requests through Manager of SpEd and outside contractors

• Create Systems. Create systems for monitoring compliance with the timelines associated with every IEP, RTI and evaluation request

• Communicates with the Manager of Special Education and outside contractors. Sends Initial Evaluation and Reevaluation requests to outside contractors and Manager of Special Education

Professional Development

• Compliance. Leads training for staff around basic special education compliance requirements (how to make a referral, how to respond to a parent referral, dates of compliance, etc.)

• Work with Special Education teams to assess gaps and needs and then deliver whole-school and Special Education-specific professional development needs to address those gaps

MTSS/ Academic and Behavioral  Intervention

Teacher Support. Provide general education teachers resources, feedback and strategies for behavior and academic tier II interventions

• Special Education Certification Required

• At least 3 years of teaching experience with special education students

• In depth knowledge of special education compliance in the state of Missouri

• Attention to detail and strong organizational skills highly preferred

• Independent and autonomous worker

At KIPP St. Louis we take care of our employees. We provide competitive salaries, and a full slate of benefits including best in class medical coverage, dental, vision, and, life insurance, short-term disability, and an optional 403b as a supplement to our retirement pension program. Benefits are subject to change year to year.

KIPP St. Louis is committed to a policy of equal treatment for all individuals applying for employment at our school. KIPP St. Louis does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, handicap, age, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.

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