Program Manager, Special Education

clevelandmetroschools; United States; On-site; USD 69,000 - 93,000; Full time

Job summary

Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) is seeking a Special Education Program Manager (K-12) to support a network of CMSD schools in providing specialized instruction and accommodations to students with a wide range of exceptionalities. The role focuses on data-driven instruction, collaboration with educators, families, and students to ensure access to a robust system of support.

The position covers curriculum design, professional development, and systems change within CMSD's Academics

Qualifications

• Design curriculum, resources, and instructional protocols aligned to Universal Design for Learning and evidence-based high-leverage practices in special education.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical support, professional development, and resources to school teams to ensure students have a pathway to graduation.
• Collaborate with educators, families, and students to create a welcoming, equitable learning environment.
• Support principals and leaders in monitoring high-leverage practices through coaching and co-planning.

Job description

Position Type: Administration and Professionals

Date Posted: 2026-09-09

Location: Administration or As Assigned

ABOUT CLEVELAND METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DISTRICT

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) is Ohio's third-largest public school system, serving more than 35,000 students. CMSD strives to ensure that every child receives a high-quality education, regardless of the provider. To that end, CMSD lets families choose which District schools their children attend, with options that include STEM, the arts, single-gender education, International Baccalaureate, Montessori, and early college. Our schools have autonomy over human and financial resources in exchange for accountability for performance. The principal has primary responsibility and accountability for establishing their school as a high-quality, high-expectation academic center focusing on personalized instruction, professional support for teachers, and school-wide practices that lead to measurable results. CMSD ensures that students have access to technology and training to prepare them for the future. The District provides a free laptop or tablet for every student and connects every family that needs internet access. Graduating seniors leave commencement with not only a diploma but also a laptop. In our pursuit of a more fair, just, and good system of education, we strive to ensure that all of our learners, both scholars and educators, to be challenged with academically and intellectually complex tasks that are worthy of their efforts and provide them opportunities to demonstrate their best work.

BUILDING BRIGHTER FUTURES

The Cleveland Board of Education adopted the Building Brighter Futures (BBF) initiative on December 9, 2025. Building Brighter Futures is a strategic and data-driven plan shaped by more than a year of community engagement, information analysis, and thoughtful deliberation. The goal of this plan is to strengthen enrollment and ensure scholars attend a newer school building that offers more educational opportunities, including algebra in the eighth grade, more sports and extracurricular activities, and college credits and college and career pathways in high school. BBF is ensuring academic excellence so every CMSD scholar can thrive.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Location: Administration or As Assigned

Reports to: Director, Special Education Instructional Services

FLSA Status: Exempt

Salary Band: 7

Compensation: $ 68,891.00 - $ 93,003.00

Internal applicants are required to upload a resume to their application

CMSD is seeking a Special Education Program Manager (K-12) to support a network of CMSD schools and/or classrooms in providing specialized instruction and accommodations to students with a wide range of exceptionalities. The program manager will provide technical support, professional development, and resources to school teams to ensure each student has a pathway to success, from evaluation to graduation. Additionally, the program manager will collaborate with educators, families, and students to ensure that each child, in every school and classroom, has access to a robust system of support and a welcoming educational environment. The ideal program manager is an advocate for diversity, inclusion, and belonging for all children, and uses data and effective practices to change systems impacting disadvantaged children with learning, communication, and other differences. Although the program manager will need to be well-versed in federal, state, and local compliance requirements, his/her focus is on high-quality instruction and student achievement. The program manager role is a versatile position that provides the employee with the opportunity to build leadership skills in the field of special education, while also contributing to the District's Strategic Priorities and Core Values within CMSD's Academics Division.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design curriculum, resources, and instructional protocols that are aligned to Universal Design for Learning principles and evidence-based, high-leverage practices in special education. The candidate should be knowledgeable in the following practices: Explicit, systematic instruction (including structured literacy)
• Consistent, organized, and responsive learning environments
• Scaffolded supports
• Adult collaborative structures
• Assessment…”
• Culturally inclusive pedagogies and practices
• Multi-tiered system of supports
• Design and deliver professional learning in support of high-leverage practices that is grounded in data, adult learning principles, and equity
• Support intervention specialists, paraprofessionals, and other school staff in their implementation of high-leverage practices through non-evaluative coaching, modeling, and co-planning as appropriate
• Support principals and school-based leaders to develop their understanding of and ability to monitor high-leverage practices through modeling, leadership coaching, and co-planning as appropriate
• Support ass