Superintendent

Alum Rock Union Elementary School District, CA; Baton Rouge (LA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

The Louisiana Special School District (SSD) seeks a visionary Superintendent to lead its mission of empowering students with low-incidence disabilities across the state. You will champion the district’s vision, drive statewide models, and engage community, civic, and policy leaders to build broad support for SSD’s goals.

Leading two schools—LSVI and LSD—you will oversee strategic planning, budget, and accountability, ensuring high expectations, equity, and collaborative partnerships for

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in a regionally accredited college or university.
• Minimum 5 years of leadership/management experience in a superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, or equivalent role.

Responsibilities

• Increase academic achievement by collaborating with district leaders.
• Refine SSD vision, mission, and beliefs to model statewide excellence for students with low-incidence disabilities.
• Develop an annual academic strategy with high expectations and measurable growth.
• Provide opportunities for independence and self-advocacy for students, including in dorms and off-campus settings.
• Maintain visibility in schools and community and communicate with the public regularly.
• Develop partnerships with stakeholder agencies and ensure equitable services.
• Lead hiring/retention plans compliant with law to recruit top teachers and staff.
• Foster continuous learning and improvement among faculty and staff.
• Oversee educator evaluation aligned with state requirements and mission.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Policy communication

Educational program development

Change management

Public advocacy

Team building

Education

Master’s Degree in Education Leadership

Job description

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Superintendent of the Special School District (SSD) will have the opportunity to improve the education, choices, and quality of instruction for thousands of K-12 students in Louisiana.

Success will require this leader to champion the vision for SSD and its unique student population; identify metrics and communicate a higher set of expectations for the district; and drive related transformation efforts to build a broad base of support through engagement with the community, civic leaders, and policy leaders at the state level, as well as grassroots leaders in homes and schools throughout the state. The SSD Board of Directors seeks a seasoned, high-caliber Superintendent to accomplish its vision: to empower students to turn challenges into opportunities as big as their dreams.

ABOUT LOUISIANA SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT (SSD)

The Special School District is an educational service agency governed by a 12-member Board of Directors that is responsible for hiring the Superintendent. Since its inception in 1977, SSD has provided educational opportunities to Louisiana students with low-incidence disabilities and a variety of unique needs.

SSD operates two schools: Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired (LSVI) and Louisiana School for the Deaf (LSD). These state-operated schools provide educational programs to all eligible Louisiana students who meet the admission criteria and who are deaf or hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired, or identified as having other low-incidence disabilities. Students can enroll as residential or day students at no charge regardless of their place of residence in the state.

SSD also provides educational programs to students enrolled at privately operated, public health, and correctional facilities. These programs span across four entities: the Office of Citizens with Developmental Disabilities, the Office of Behavioral Health, the Office of Juvenile Justice, and the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.

JOB FUNCTIONS

The Superintendent will continuously work to:

• Increase the academic achievement level of all SSD students by working collaboratively with the Chief Academic Officer, Assistant Superintendent for Special School Programs, Director of the Louisiana School for the Deaf, and Director for the Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired.
• Facilitate a collaborative effort to review and refine SSD’s vision, mission, and beliefs to focus on developing a statewide model of excellence in serving students who are deaf or hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired, or identified as having other low-incidence disabilities.
• Develop an annual academic strategy for SSD schools anchored in high expectations and measurable growth in student performance and college and/or career attainment for all students, while understanding and celebrating what is unique about each school’s student population and tailoring school strategies with these distinctions in mind.
• Ensure an academic setting that provides students with opportunities and support to build independence and self-advocacy skills on the path to adulthood. This element is essential not only at school but also in dormitories and off-campus venues where students learn to interact with the community at large and gain invaluable work experiences.

Additional job functions include:

• Maintain a visible presence in schools, programs, and the community.
• Communicate with the public through available opportunities such as the SSD website, newsletters, social media, media releases, and public speaking engagements.
• Provide the SSD Board of Directors, students, families, staff, and community with clear, frequent, and accessible information about each schools’ mission, curriculum, and academic performance.
• Ensure administrators and teachers communicate student progress and academic resources.
• Develop strong, sustainable partnerships with stakeholder agencies including Local Education Agencies.
• Develop and implement a hiring and retention plan that complies with applicable state and federal laws and targets the most qualified teachers, administrators, and shared specialty service personnel.
• Foster an environment of continuous learning and improvement among faculty and staff.
• Administer and track an educator evaluation program that aligns with state requirements, supports teachers and school leaders, and defines expectations for student learning.
• Develop a strategic plan as required by the Office of Planning and Budget to achieve agreed-upon strategic goals.
• Maintain and increase an appropriate budget for SSD by working collaboratively with the Division of Administration and the legislature.
• Ensure instructional staff are fairly compensated and schools are receiving fair and equitable services through shared specialty services.
• Develop systems of collaboration between SSD, state agencies, and experts both in and outside of Louisiana to become a highly functioning, valued resource for the State.
• Administer the development, implementation, and annual assessment of educational programs consistent with state and federal requirements.
• Ensure that policies, procedures, and school rules promote a safe, respectful, and healthy school.
• Conduct administrative decisions necessary for effective and efficient operations of SSD facilities.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Master’s Degree earned at a regionally accredited college or university.
• 5 years of experience in leadership, management, or school governance (state, parish, or city) as a superintendent, assistant superintendent, supervisor of instruction, principal, or assistant principal in a State-approved system, or experience certified as equivalent to any of these by the Board.

Preferred

• Experience in a superintendent or assistant superintendent role.
• Professional experience with the deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired, and/or low-incidence disability community.

SKILLS

• Proven ability to recruit, manage, and retain high-functioning talent and teams.
• Deep and excellent capacity for relationship-building across teams, organizations, geographies, and interests.
• Seasoned and innate instincts for authentic, effective communication with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Tested experience in managing systemic systems-change processes, including articulating a new, clear, and thoughtful vision with evidence of driving a team effectively through that change.
• Track record for holding schools or organizations accountable for high academic or industry standards.
• Experience navigating and leading effectively within a public advocacy context.
• Experience developing a team or organizational strategy and being accountable for its results.