School Based Special Education Director

Location(s):
Harlem and Bronx, NY. Address: 691 St. Nicholas Avenue, New York, NY 10030. Compensation:
Competitive base salary and comprehensive benefits package. Status:
Full‑time.

Work Schedule:

Monday – Friday, 7:35 AM – 4:00 PM. Night and weekend work occasionally required. Travel:
Travel among all school locations with potential daily frequency. FLSA Status:
Exempt, 12‑month employee.

Reports to:

Managing Director of Special Education.

TITLE:

Director of Special Education.

LOCATION:

New York, NY and Bronx, NY.

START DATE:

July 1, 2026.

Neighborhood Charter Schools (NCS) is a public charter school network rooted in Harlem and the Bronx, serving students in an intentionally designed, inclusive learning community. NCS is built on a simple but powerful belief: every child deserves to be known, valued, and supported as their full self. Our schools operate as a true neighborhood model, grounded in deep relationships with families and a commitment to belonging for every student.

What distinguishes NCS is an inclusive‑by‑design approach. Classrooms, schedules, and supports are intentionally built to serve autistic students, multilingual learners, students with IEPs, and general education students together. Inclusion is not a program or an add‑on—it is the foundation of how our schools function and how students experience learning every day.

As NCS expands from a K‑8 network to a K‑12 system, the launch of its first high school marks a defining moment for the organization. This next chapter requires greater coherence across schools, clarity around vision and systems, and senior leadership to ensure quality and consistency as the network grows.

The School‑Based Director of Special Education is responsible for ensuring that all scholars with disabilities are supported to reach their full potential through rigorous, differentiated instruction and the faithful implementation of NCS’s special education programs at the school level. This role oversees and coaches school‑based special education leaders and service providers, including Special Education Coordinators, Mental Health and Behavior Program Managers, and speech‑language pathologists, while collaborating closely with school leadership to ensure strong instructional practice and compliance.

The Director designs, implements, and monitors school‑based special education systems in partnership with other team members. Additionally, the Director supports autism program fidelity, family partnership, professional development, assessment accommodations, and enrollment processes, creating the conditions for equitable, inclusive, and high‑quality special education programming across the campus.

This position reports to the Managing Director of Special Education.

• People Management
  • Directly manages Special Education Coordinators, Mental Health and Behaviors Program Managers, and SLPs under the guidance of the Managing Director of Special Education.
  • Completes evaluation documents for all direct reports.
  • Collaborates and communicates with the school‑based leader team regarding special education matters.
  • Ensures day‑to‑day special education compliance, dependent on teacher and student attendance, in conjunction with the school‑based leader team.
• Case Management
  • Works with the Special Education Project manager and the special education coordinators to ensure case management systems are effectively implemented at the school‑based level.
  • Develops and maintains professional working relationships with outside agencies regarding case management (i.e., Committee on Special Education, RCM healthcare, Department of Education).
• Special education records management and data tracking
  • Assist with per‑pupil billing as needed.
  • Maintenance of school‑based special education documentation and compliance.
• Special education compliance management
  • Monitors classroom special education ratios to ensure equity and inclusion.
  • Ensures implementation of 12:1 programming across full‑day and half‑day models.
  • Works alongside the intervention specialist and school‑based leader team to ensure 12:1 instructional…