Executive Director of Diverse Learners Support

Job Description

Job Description

NOLA Public Schools Vision

The vision of the NOLA Public Schools is that every student receives a high-quality education that fosters their individual capabilities, while ensuring that they thrive, achieve physical and mental wellness, and are prepared for civic, social, and economic success.

Position Summary
Under the guidance of the Senior Chief Student Support Officer, the Executive Director of Diverse Learners Support will play a significant role in supporting and creating conditions to foster continual improvement among charter schools in New Orleans. This position requires one to consistently work across a diverse group of stakeholders, inside and outside NOLA-PS, to identify, analyze, understand and formulate solutions best suited to ensure maximum impact at both the district and school level. Areas of policy and practice development are constantly emerging, but priority areas include: teacher and school leader talent pipelines, English Language Learners, shared services and supports across charter schools, and operational efficiencies.

The Executive Director will be expected to directly support charter school leaders and their teams when challenges arise that must be addressed at the local or state level. Given that NOLA-PS is a premier portfolio school district and presented with governance and policy development challenges unique to such a system, a successful candidate will be an entrepreneurial critical-thinker with a deep commitment to uncovering solutions to increase the efficacy of both NOLA-PS and individual charter school organizations.

Direct Reports
This position supervises the Director of Specialized, Programming, Placement, and Facilitation and Special Education Ombudsman.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Directly support and engage school leaders on their needs to increase organizational effectiveness and increase student achievement through professional development and oversight of shared services models;
• Lead efforts to create and regularly convene Communities of Practice that actively support Special Education Leaders, and other identified groups needed to improve outcomes for diverse learners;
• Independently generate and propose solutions to address specific needs which arise throughout engaging with a diverse set of stakeholders;
• Research, develop and plan for implementation of subset policies and practices that directly impacts NOLA-PS meeting its organizational goals and strategic priorities related to school operations and improvement;
• Regularly communicate, coordinate and liaise with state and local experts and partners that have experience and knowledge related to the given issue or topic;
• Consistently engage with NOLA-PS staff across divisions to increase effectiveness and efficiency when supporting and engaging schools;
• Works collaboratively with team members from various departments within NOLA-PS to identify emerging issues;
• Communicates effectively with colleagues and a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, orally and in writing;
• Evaluates and can manipulate a variety of data to inform policy and practice discussions and development;
• Annually reviews and analyzes data needed to make support determinations in alignment with the Diverse Learner School Support Framework, develop and submit a Diverse Learner Support Plan, and deploy the identified supports to schools;
• Provides identified school supports to schools in our portfolio, as determined by the Diverse Learner School Support Framework;
• Oversees the implementation of the Special Education Ombudsman role to ensure families and schools are supported;
• Collaborates with Accountability to respond to special education complaints and non-compliance issues, in alignment with the Charter School Accountability Framework;
• Oversees Specialized Programming to ensure compliance with the expectations set forth by NOLA-PS; and

• Performs other duties as required.

Education and Experience

• Master’s Degree in Special Education or related field required;
• Minimum of five years of professional experience required;
• Work with or in charter schools strongly preferred;
• Knowledge of state and national best practices in supporting diverse learners strongly preferred;
• Experience in school leadership (teacher leadership, administration or principal) preferred;
• Knowledge of and familiarity with special education and Louisiana Charter School policy and law strongly preferred;
• Experience in implementation of shared services models strongly preferred;
• Knowledge of state and national best practices in charter school authorization strongly preferred;
• Work with or in charter schools strongly preferred;
• Experience in school leadership (teacher leadership, administration or principal) preferred;

Other Knowledge, Skills or Abilities Required

• Strong interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to work cooperatively and courteously with others and communicate with a variety of personalities in a tactful, pleasant, and professional manner;

• Strong public speaking and presentation skills, with the ability to tailor messaging and respond effectively to the needs of diverse audiences

• Ability to use basic office procedures and equipment. Expertise in the use of personal computers, literacy in the following software packages: Windows, Microsoft Office Programs with proficiency in Word and Excel, and financial management software;
• Excellent organizational, planning, and multitasking skills.
• Attention to detail and accuracy;
• Excellent information-gathering and information-monitoring skills;
• Problem analysis and problem-solving skills;
• Ability to collaborate and partner with various stakeholders;
• Ability to use good judgment and strong decision-making skills;
• Ability to take initiative on projects and complete them successfully without supervision; and
• Ability to work well under pressure, while projecting high motivation, maintaining strict confidentiality, and handling clients with tact and diplomacy. Ability to follow-up/follow-through on assignments is essential.

Salary Offers

Our salary offers reflect a commitment to equity and transparency. Each offer is determined by education, years of experience, and alignment with compensation across similar roles within the district.

Work Environment

Listed below are key points regarding environmental demands and the work environment of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

- Required to use motor coordination with finger dexterity (such as keyboarding, machine operation, etc.) part of the workday;

- Required to exert physical effort in handling objects more than 30 pounds rarely;

- Required to be exposed to physical occupational risks (such as cuts, burns, exposure to toxic chemicals) rarely;

- Required to be exposed to physical environment which involves dirt, odors, noise, weather extremes or similar elements rarely;

- Normal setting for this job is an office/school setting.

Performance Evaluation

The employee will be evaluated based on the above position using either two methods: via COMPASS/LEADS or a NOLA-PS evaluating instrument. If the employee holds an Educational Leadership certification, he/she will be evaluated via COMPASS/LEADS to ensure renewal of certification.

EEOC Statement

NOLA Public Schools is committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, genetic information, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, lawful alien status, national origin, age, marital status, and non-job related physical or mental disability, or protected veteran status.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.