Program Manager, Special Education

Position Type:

Administration and Professionals

Date Posted:

2025-08-22

Location:Administration or As Assigned

INTRODUCTION: CONTEXT AND MISSION

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) serves approximately 37,000 students in 100+ schools. Over the past several years, the Greater Cleveland community has united behind the collective goal of ensuring every child in Cleveland attends a high-quality school and every neighborhood has a multitude of great schools from which families can choose. The Cleveland Plan defines CMSD’s approach to the reinvention of public education and holds our community accountable for the success of Cleveland’s schoolchildren. The Cleveland Plan is supported by Ohio House Bill 525, which provides much-needed flexibility and autonomy for the district and its schools. Our schools have autonomy over human and financial resources in exchange for accountability for

performance. The principal has primary responsibility and accountability for establishing his or her school as a high-quality, high-expectations academic center with a focus on personalized instruction, professional support for teachers, and school-wide practices that lead to measurable results.

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District has developed standards of excellence that the district applies to all parts of the organization inclusive of schools, principals, school leadership teams, networks, and central office. Alignment between Standards of Excellence (SoE) and the district’s Theory of Action helps ensure that principals are able to focus on scholar achievement and that central office supports are timely and effective.

Our Vision for Learning in a Post-Pandemic World:

In our pursuit of a more fair, just, and good system of education, we want each of our learners, both each of our scholars and each of their educators, to be individually and collectively presented with academically / intellectually complex tasks that are worthy of their productive struggle and allow them authentic opportunities to demonstrate their work and their learning of academic content and transferable skills in a joyful and adventurous environment.

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


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 access to technical support, professional development, and resources for school teams to ensure that 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 and progress monitoring
  • 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