Special Education Administrative Leadership Institute for Experienced Directors

Special Education Administrative Leadership Institute

Join a cohort of current experienced special education leaders to enhance your knowledge of current practices, laws, and strategies as your work with students and staff. 

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A partnership with Academic Discoveries, LLC and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)

   

About the Program

This year-long institute is designed to enhance and enrich the already well established knowledge base of the seasoned Special Education Administrator. Through seminars, communities of practice, personalized coaching, and problem-solving experiences and projects, participants will develop strategies and solutions to challenging issues and dilemmas.

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Program Goals

• Building strategies for effective collaboration
• Developing tiered systems of positive behavioral supports and interventions
• Effectively evaluating programs that promote least restrictive environments while maintaining fiscal responsibility
• Implementing the new 2024-2025 IEP / transitioning strategies and legal obligations
• Utilizing the Educator Effectiveness Guidebook for Inclusive Practice as part of an evaluation process
• Effectively engaging in conflict and dispute resolution while maintaining relationships with partners
• Implementing a local project to improve culturally responsive practices
• Enhancing high quality professional development, with results-driven accountability

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Introductory Session Highlights

Leadership

• Power of beliefs, vision and culture
• Creating and sustaining collaborative teams
• Implementing the new IEP
• Transformative Mental Health in Schools overview

Cultural Responsiveness, Equity, and Inclusion

• Assumptions, guidelines, and guiding principles
• Intersection of race, ethnicity and poverty on student learning
• Implications and strategies in the inclusive classroom

Special Education Law 

• Federal and State Law
• Student Rights
• Human Resources

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School Year Highlights

Instructional Leadership

• Structures that support struggling learners
• Models of prevention to support at-risk students (SEL, UDL, RTI, PBIS)

Family and Community Engagement

• Equity—practices in school policy, community, and curriculum
• Promoting an effective and active SEPAC
• Partnering with community organizations to enhance wrap-around services for students

Management and Operations

• Hiring and retaining high quality staff
• Circuit breaker, grants, and funding allocations

Inclusive Professional Culture and School Environment

• Assessment literacy
• Inquiry—promoting the use of data to change instruction
• Developing action plans for high quality professional development

Capstone Project