Stepping into the role of a Special Education Director is both an exciting and challenging endeavor. As the leader of special education services, you play a pivotal role in shaping the educational experiences of students as well as the educators who support them. As a new Special Education Director, it’s natural to have questions about best practices for succeeding in your role, no matter how many years you’ve been in education. The following provides eight vital tips to help you succeed in your early days and beyond.
1. Build Strong Relationships
Relationships are at the foundation of effective leadership. Listen, be humble, be kind. Seek to build collegial relationships through open, respectful communication with your department staff. Take the time to learn about your colleagues’ strengths, passions, and areas where they are seeking growth. On-site, reach out to the educators who support students in special education to identify their common concerns and needed areas of support. Problem-solve directly with these stakeholders to collaboratively make meaningful change. It’s also crucial to listen to the leaders of the school to learn and understand their beliefs about their staff and student needs. They are the instructional leaders of their site, and it is crucial to establish mutual respect. Lastly, be sure to establish positive relationships with families. Approach any challenging conversations with empathy, and listening is key! Remain calm, be supportive, involve them in decision-making, and be as positive as you can to create favorable outcomes.
2. Understand Your State & District Data
While interpersonal relationships are vital, special education is compliance-driven under state regulation and federal law. Analyze student outcomes and find trends and patterns to support data-driven decisions. Put together a team to collectively decide on evidence-based interventions with continuous progress monitoring. Review, revise, and repeat to enhance student outcomes. Remember to celebrate growth and positive measures.
3. Delegate Effectively
You cannot do it all. Maintaining a work-life balance is essential for your long-term success in this challenging and demanding role. Allow others to take on responsibilities that will maximize their potential and allow you to focus on the tasks that require your expertise.
4. Technology is Your Friend
Embrace technology to streamline your work. Find ways to organize your email, calendar, contacts, and document management systems. If you have any technical questions or concerns, seek out help from your district IT and EdTech departments and/or tech-savvy team members. There is always that certain someone who knows how to solve every nuanced tech need.
5. Balance Timely & Patient Responses
In a fast-paced environment, it is essential to respond to messages promptly and meet crucial deadlines, so plan accordingly. With that said, take the necessary time to process a question or concern before providing an emotion-driven response. An email reply can be held off until you have thought through the presented content. Do your research, collect the facts, and moderate strong emotions. If in doubt, consider drafting your responses and revisiting them after some time has passed. Only send your message after a second or third read-through, and add any edits needed to ensure the content is clear, kind, and factual. Another consideration is to spend your first year getting to know your staff, data, processes, what is going well, and what may need some attention. Many people find change to be exceedingly difficult. In your first year, only make changes that MUST be made for the well-being of students and compliance level concerns. Use years 2 and 3 for more involved changes that may require the altering of practices and procedures.
6. Stay on Top of Open Positions
From teachers and therapists to paraprofessionals, school staffing shortages is a widespread problem across the United States. Yet, special education federal law does not allow staff shortages as a rationale to deny students special education supplementary aids and services as written in their IEP. Be creative to cover classrooms and caseloads. Any amount of service unrendered will result in the need for compensatory education. Making up services places yet another burden on the student and the district. Compensatory time must be provided so as not to interrupt the student’s regular day’s IEP services, and the district must bear additional costs to cover such compensatory education. Continue to recruit and reach out to vetted staffing agencies to help fill your open positions. Staffing agencies have wide recruiting power, particularly for your positions that are extremely hard to fill.
7. Master Your Budget
Navigating your budget can be difficult but is essential in special education. Familiarize yourself with available funding and accounts and learn the basics of building a budget. Find out what expenses are allowable within each financial source such as operational, federal title programs, and IDEA. Learn all there is to know about Medicaid School-Based Services (MSBS). This program can add much-needed capital to support the excessive costs to support your special education staffing needs, supplementary aids, supplies, and equipment. Get to know how to maximize your MSBS reimbursements. Reach out to the experts in the field to help you and your district capitalize on this frequently under-tapped resource.
8. Seek Mentorship
Finally, don’t hesitate to seek guidance from experienced mentors or advisors. You will find that you may have questions or want to bounce an idea off another person. Your role can feel isolated, especially in smaller districts where other directors may not be available for support. However, it’s important to find others to collaborate and identify with. Connect with other districts, and local, state, or national organizations to find a mentor who can provide valuable insights and encouragement. You are not alone!
As you embark on your journey as a Special Education Director, remember that the challenges you face are also opportunities for growth and innovation. By implementing these eight essential tips, you can begin to have a positive impact on both students and staff. Building strong relationships, understanding data, and mastering your responsibilities will not only enhance your leadership skills, but also foster an environment where both students and staff can thrive. Embrace collaboration, leverage technology, and prioritize self-care to sustain this rewarding path with confidence and purpose, ensuring that all students receive the quality education they deserve.
Discover more about mentorship opportunities and support from the BlazerWorks Special Education Advisory Team using the button below.
Meet The Author
Jacqueline Denton
M.A. Ed.
Administrative and Special Education Clinical Advisor
Jacqueline Denton holds a master’s degree in educational psychology and educational leadership. She has 28 years of experience in public-school settings from classroom teacher to 20+ years as a district level administrator. In her role with BlazerWorks as an Administrative and Special Education Advisor, Jacqueline is dedicated to supporting special education teachers and administrators how federal law and state regulations protect students with disabilities in their least restrictive environment. She also holds a level of expertise in Medicaid School-Based Services and is excited to share with administrators the beauty of how Medicaid billing reimbursements can help offset the costs of federally mandatory staffing needs.
