Managing Senior Director of Inclusion Support, DECE

Please Note: This Position only open to internal NYC Public Schools (NYCPS) employees.

Managing Senior Director of Inclusion Support, DECE

Position Summary: The New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) Division of Early Childhood Education (DECE) supports the operational and programmatic functions of early childhood education programs for NYC children in elementary schools, Pre-K Centers, and NYCPS contracted settings included in Community Based Organizations (CBO) and through Family Child Care (FCC) programs. DECE provides families with access to high quality, inclusive early childhood programs for children birth to five, in rich diverse settings, supporting children’s growth and development. Working together with families and programs, DECE ensures that children are welcomed, engaged, nurtured and supported. 

The Managing Senior Director of Inclusion Support will set the strategic vision for supporting programs to become more inclusive, welcoming of students with disabilities, and ready to provide all students with the supports they need to thrive in inclusive settings. They will lead the vision, planning and development of supports, services, and programs to strengthen the inclusive practices of DECE programs to address the individual strengths and needs of children with potential developmental delays and with identified disabilities. The Senior Director will work with internal and external partners to implement systems, policies, and practices that ensure seamless processes for children transitioning to and from Early Intervention (EI) and the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE), provide supports and resources for programs and schools to connect families to EI and CPSE, and serve as a support to address concerns and inquiries from families regarding EI and CPSE. The Managing Senior Director will support the development and facilitation of professional learning for early childhood leaders and educators city-wide to ensure the implementation of high quality inclusive practices so that all programs and schools are fully equipped to serve all children in the least restrictive environment. Performs related work.

Reports to: Chief of Learning and Partnerships

Direct Reports: Director of Early Intervention Transition, Early Childhood Inclusion Manager, Early Childhood Inclusion Specialists, Early Childhood Inclusion Coordinator and Early Childhood Inclusion Administrator.

Key Relationships: Deputy Chancellor, Chief of Staff, Senior Directors, program and school leaders, internal and external stakeholders and key partners.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders across multiple NYCPS offices, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), NY State Education Department (NYSED), Special Education Office (SEO) within the Division of Inclusive and Accessible Learning (DIAL) and other DIAL offices as appropriate, families, and community partners in order to advance early childhood policies, practices, and initiatives that ensure all children have access to high-quality early childhood programming based on their developmental strengths and needs.
• Oversee inclusion support in all NYCPS early childhood education programs by managing deployment of Inclusion Specialists and other resources and supports as needed.
• Coordinate activities with the Division of Inclusive and Accessible Learning (DIAL) as appropriate.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive approach related to policies, pedagogical practices, specifically high-quality inclusive practices, and family partnerships, to support programs/schools to effectively and appropriately serve children birth-five with potential and identified developmental delays and disabilities.
• Establish goals and monitoring systems to evaluate progress in serving children with disabilities in all settings.
• Support leadership coaches in helping program/school leaders track their program/school’s progress regarding the inclusion of students with disabilities, their development of individualized interventions for their program, and their communication with families about the early intervention and special education process.
• Establish and institute systems and structures that ensure seamless transitions for children between Early Intervention, CPSE, and school-age special education, working in close collaboration with internal and external partners.
• Respond to escalations regarding services and supports for children receiving EI and related to preschool children with disabilities, ensuring timely and proactive connections are made to the respective internal and external partners to address concerns and issues.
• Work in collaboration with the DECE Family-Centered Partnership team, as well as other internal and external partners, to disseminate information to families about supports, resources, and educational options/rights for children with disabilities.
• Develop and implement systems and structures that provide the resources and supports for program/school leaders to effectively navigate and complete pre-referral and referral processes.
• Lead and manage the data analysis of city-wide developmental screening results in order to inform professional learning, systems, and structures that will support the policies, practices, and outcome monitoring related to children with potential developmental delays.
• Develop and lead systems that monitor and track strengths, trends, and gaps city-wide related to the implementation of high-quality inclusive practices, in order to inform professional learning and coaching for school/program leaders, classroom teaching teams, and leadership coaches.
• Provide intentional and systematic support to leadership coaches and school/program leaders related to data-informed planning as it relates to the facilitation of developmental screening, implementation of authentic assessment, and ensuring implementation of children’s IEPs. 
• Support the development of a professional learning plan that supports program/school leaders’ capacity to coach teaching teams in adapting curriculum and implementing inclusive practices to support children with disabilities in inclusive and preschool special education classrooms.
• Support professional learning sessions for a wide range of stakeholders, from program/school leaders to leadership coaches, to classroom teaching teams, that are consistent with current research on child development, effective adult-child interactions, and adult learning.
• Work in close collaboration with senior leadership to manage and address State corrective action plans.
• Work in close collaboration with DOHMH and SEO (as well as other DIAL offices, as appropriate) to determine Child Find procedures.
• Travel city-wide as needed to support programs and schools with the implementation of the defining features of high-quality inclusion and support special education classrooms.
• Participate in meetings (e.g., team meetings, city-wide meetings).
• Immediately report any knowledge of unsafe situations, threats posing imminent danger to the program or to program staff, children/families, and/or allegations of child abuse and maltreatment, consistent with Chancellor’s Regulations.
• Serve as DECE's lead for citywide early childhood inclusion strategy, ensuring alignment across instructional, operational, legal, compliance, and interagency priorities.
• Lead the development of sustainable systems that strengthen inclusive practices across all DECE settings and ensure consistent implementation citywide.
• Represent DECE in high-level meetings with DIAL, DOHMH, the Bureau of Early Intervention, ACS, NYSED, the Mayor's Office, and other city and state agencies to coordinate cross-system initiatives.
• Build and sustain strategic partnerships with external organizations, advocacy groups, and community stakeholders to improve services for children with disabilities and their families.
• Serve as the senior lead for complex and high-profile special education matters, including Chancellor's Office inquiries, executive leadership requests, legal concerns, advocacy organization inquiries, and interagency issue resolution.
• Provide strategic guidance on sensitive family concerns and cross-agency escalations requiring executive coordination.
• Lead the development, interpretation, implementation, and continuous improvement of citywide policies, operational guidance, and procedures related to early childhood inclusion and preschool special education.
• Monitor changes in federal, state, and local regulations and ensure DECE policies remain aligned with evolving requirements.
• Establish executive accountability structures to monitor IDEA compliance, preschool special education requirements, corrective action plans, and citywide inclusion performance metrics.
• Oversee continuous improvement efforts using data to identify trends, mitigate risk, and improve outcomes.
• Lead long-term strategic planning for inclusive early childhood education, identifying system improvements and cross-divisional initiatives that expand equitable access and improve outcomes for children with disabilities.
• Advise senior leadership regarding emerging legislative, regulatory, political, and community issues affecting early childhood inclusion.
• Coordinate DECE's response to policy initiatives and external priorities that impact preschool special education.
• Direct responses to complex situations involving preschool special education, including litigation support, interagency coordination, media-sensitive issues, and executive briefings.

Qualification Requirements:

Minimum

Must currently possess or will possess by date of hire, New York State certification as a school district administrator (SDA) or school district leader (SDL); or the Administrator Certificate plus Superintendent extension. Please Note: We do not accept internship certificates.

For more information regarding the DOE’s supervisory certification requirements, as well as a link to the New York State Education Department’s website to apply for certification, please visit our website at https://www.schools.nyc.gov/careers/principals-and-assistant-principals/school-leader-and-supervisory-certification.

Preferred

• Demonstrated understanding of children’s growth and development from birth to five-years old, including extensive knowledge of the New York State Early Learning Guidelines, New York State Prekindergarten Foundation for the Common Core (PKFCC), and the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF).
• Demonstrated knowledge of current early childhood education research related to strengths-based adult-child interactions that foster children’s growth, development, and learning, and aligned with the New York State’s Core Body of Knowledge.
• Extensive knowledge of the defining features of Early Childhood Inclusion as defined by the Division of Early Childhood (DEC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
• Knowledge of the Head Start Performance Standards.
• Knowledge of the New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s health code and section 390 of the New York Social Services Law under the authority of New York State Office of Children and Family Services that governs regulated childcare programs.
• In-depth understanding of Early Intervention and the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) processes, services, and resources.
• Knowledge and experience providing training on tiered systems of support (i.e. Response to Intervention, Positive Behavior Intervention Supports, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, Pyramid Model) and trauma informed approaches.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).   
• Demonstrated commitment to and advocacy for an inclusive education for children with and without disabilities.
• Strong program/project management skills, with the ability to plan, organize, develop, and lead the implementation of instructional programs and large-scale projects on a school/district/citywide basis.
• Demonstrated understanding of adult learning and change management theories, and proven ability to implement systems and practices consistent with such theories.
• Proven ability to effectively facilitate professional learning experiences for diverse audiences including program and school leaders, classroom teaching teams, and leadership coaches, as well as internal and external partners.
• Proven ability to support staff to develop and engage in a strengths-based coaching partnership with program leaders (e.g., directors, educational directors, educational directors, education specialists, principals, assistant principals) to ensure high-quality early childhood education that is inclusive of all children.
• Strong interpersonal leadership skills and an exceptional ability to manage complex relationships with diverse populations, including school-based staff, senior administrative leadership, and community advocates.
• Demonstrated capacity to collaborate within and across teams, internally and externally, as well as exercise flexibility in alignment with priority shifts among programs and the broader NYCPS.
• Demonstrated openness to receiving professional feedback from supervisors.
• Demonstrated knowledge of and ability to use Microsoft Office 365 applications.

Salary: $184,915 - $203,406

NOTE: The filling of all positions is subject to budget availability and/or grant funding.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

It is the policy of the Department of Education of the City of New York to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to actual or perceived race, color, religion, creed, ethnicity, national origin, alienage, citizenship status, age, marital status, partnership status, disability, sexual orientation, gender (sex), military status, unemployment status, caregiver status, consumer credit history, prior record of arrest or conviction (except as permitted by law), predisposing genetic characteristics, or status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual offenses and stalking, and to maintain an environment free of harassment on any of the above-noted grounds, including sexual harassment or retaliation. For more information, please refer to the DOE Non-Discrimination Policy.