Instructional Systems Specialist

General Information

The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) is the State Education Agency for the District of Columbia charged with raising the quality of education for all DC residents. OSSE is focused on sustaining, accelerating, and deepening the progress being made for the District's 90,000+ students. OSSE serves as the District's liaison to the U.S. Department of Education and works closely with the District's 470+ early childhood facilities, 250+ schools, 60+ local education agencies (including DCPS and charter organizations), and community-based organizations to provide critical programming and resources to our stakeholders.

Educators are the single most important in-school factor impacting student learning and lives. The state education agency is critical in ensuring that all D.C. students have equitable access to excellent educators, consistent with the Every Student Succeeds Act. The Special Education Specialist position is in OSSE's Division of Teaching and Learning within the Inclusive Practices team within the Academic Acceleration team. This team manages critical state-level, public-facing programming and professional learning. The Special Education Specialist will report to the Inclusive Practices Manager.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Instructional System Specialist Reviews and analyzes various data to create a plan for SPED instruction supports throughout the District. Supports District LEA teams to refine/enhance their instructional improvement cycle, including possible school visits, classroom observations, professional development, and content support. Collaborates across the Division and with other Divisions within OSSE to discuss LEAs and schools in need of support to determine appropriate technical assistance strategies. Connects stakeholders to resources, information and research from within the agency, and across the education sector to help schools and systems solve targeted instructional challenges. Facilitates adult learning experiences for school and system leaders. Manages vendor contracts and ensures program evaluation and modifications. Collaborates with monitoring and compliance specialists to discuss compliance issues/concerns with LEAs, and non-public schools to address the areas identified for training and technical assistance.


Qualifications and Education

Specialized Experience: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression.

Degree: that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours appropriate to the work of the position to be filled. The course work must have included study in at least four of the following five areas:

1. Learning theory, psychology of learning, educational psychology: Study of learning theories as they relate to the systematic design, development, and validation of instructional material.
2. Instructional design practices: Study of the principles and techniques used in designing training programs, developing design strategy and models, and applying design methods to the improvement of instructional effectiveness.
3. Educational evaluation: Study of the techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of instructional/educational programs, including developing written and performance tests and survey instruments, and determining reliability and validity of evaluation instruments.
4. Instructional product development: Study of the techniques appropriate for developing training materials, including identifying learner characteristics, specifying objectives, applying training strategy, validating training materials, and evaluating training.
5. Computers in education and training: Study of the application of computers in education and training, including selecting appropriate computer software.

License, Certification, and other requirements

None.

Working Conditions/Environment

Work is normally performed in an office environment.

Other Significant Facts

Tour of Duty: Monday - Friday; 8:30AM-5:00PM

Plan, Series, Grade: CS-1750-13

Promotion Potential: No known promotional potential

Duration of Appointment: This is an Education Service (ES), At-Will Appointment. All positions and appointments in the Education Service serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority and may be terminated at any time with or without cause.

Collective Bargaining Unit (Non-Union): This position is not covered under a collecting bargaining agreement.

Position Designation: This position will be subject to enhanced suitability screening pursuant to Chapter 4 of DC Personnel Regulations, Suitability - Security Sensitive . Accordingly, the incumbent will be subject to pre-employment checks (criminal background checks, consumer credit check, traffic record checks, if applicable) as a condition of employment, and will be subject to periodic criminal background checks for the duration of your tenure.

Essential Designation: This position is classified as an essential position under the provisions of the District Personnel Manual Chapter 12. As such, the incumbent is required to serve in emergency situations to perform critical duties, i.e., snow removal, debris removal, transportation, shelter, operations, food distribution, and communications. These duties may be performed when the government is closed or when employees are dismissed early.

Residency Preference: Applicants claiming Residency Preference will be required to maintain residency in the District of Columbia for a minimum of seven (7) years. Failure to do so may result in forfeiture of employment.

EEO Statement: The District of Columbia Government does not discriminate or retaliate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, gender identity and expression, national origin, family responsibilities, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, homeless status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, participation in a legally protected activity, parental status, matriculation, personal appearance, credit information, status as a victim or family member of a victim of domestic violence, sexual offense, or stalking, military service, or other non-merit factor.