2025 – 2026 School Year
Bridgeport Public Schools
Human Resources Department
45 Lyon Terrace, Room 324

SENIOR SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTION OFFICER
OFFICE OF SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTION
UNAFFILIATED (12 MONTHS)

SALARY RANGE: $175,000 - $180,000

GENERAL STATEMENT OF DUTIES:

The Senior Specialized Instruction Officer will lead the district’s efforts to strengthen instructional quality, compliance, and staffing within specialized education settings. This role designs and oversees systems for effective IEP coordination, classroom walkthrough cycles, coaching structures, and supervisor engagement to ensure students with disabilities receive high‑quality instruction and services aligned with state and federal expectations. The officer will collaborate closely with Human Resources, Curriculum and Instruction, and school leaders to ensure all teachers are fully qualified, supported, and evaluated effectively, while also establishing transparent monitoring systems for paras and instructional delivery. Additionally, this role partners with families and the Parent Advisory Council, guides curriculum development for self‑contained settings, and ensures timely and accurate compliance with excess cost reimbursement processes. The Senior Specialized Instruction Officer will report directly to the Assistant Superintendent.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The essential functions or duties described below are the primary functions and duties of the position. Other types of work may be performed, and the omission of a particular duty or function does not exclude that duty or function from the position provided the duty or function is similar in work, related to the work, or logically assigned to the position.

•Create and implement the procedural guidelines for principal coordination of individualized education plans (IEPs) to ensure it is developed with the proper procedures including appropriate evaluation, input from a multidisciplinary team with active parent involvement to meet the needs of students with disabilities. This will include a process and procedure for requesting supervisor attendance at PPT.

•Create and implement a system for the supervisors to provide bi-weekly walkthroughs of self-contained classrooms, including a system to report findings and recommendations to principals. Report to the Assistant Superintendent on the cumulative results monthly.

•Create and implement a system to summarize self-contained classroom walkthrough findings. Report to the Assistant Superintendent on the cumulative results monthly.

•Create and implement a system to provide coaching to the special education teachers in need of instructional, behavior, and compliance support, and provide monthly progress reports to the Assistant Superintendent.

•Create and implement a system for supervisors and principals to determine the need for supervisor attendance in a PPT, and provide monthly progress reports to the Superintendent.

•Work closely on a collaborative basis, with the Assistant Superintendent of Human Capital (ASHC) and building principals to ensure 100% of special education teachers in self-contained and resource settings qualify as teachers of record. Report weekly to the Superintendent.

•Follow district contractual expectations and timelines for the supervision and evaluation of special education supervisors, Board Certified Behavioral Analysts (BCBA), and supervisors of specialized schools.

•Develop and implement a transparent monitoring system to ensure special education supervisors provide consistent support for instructional, curricular, and behavioral management, to all special education teachers in district. Report progress to the Superintendent on a weekly basis.

•Meet at least monthly with the ASHC with a focus on DSAP special education teachers and special education teachers who are classified as pending certification.

•Work with ASHC to develop a system for accurately calculating and monitoring the number, school, and class locations of special education paraeducators (paras), including 1-1. Report results to the superintendent weekly.

•Work with the ASHC, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction (ASCI), and Chief Financial Officer to develop a systematic approach to recruiting, hiring, supervising, and evaluating paras.

•Work with the ASCI to develop specific curriculums to be taught in self-contained classes and with supervisors, service providers, and teachers to ensure professional learning and implementation support.

•Work with the ASCI to develop curriculum and implement instruction for reading, writing, and math.

•Develop and implement grading policies across the district.

•Work with the Parent Advisory Council with the goal of developing additional approaches to connecting and supporting parents of students receiving special education services.

•Create a system to adhere to CSDE timelines and submission requirements for the in-district excess cost reimbursement processes.

•Collaborate with the Finance Coordinator who will work with you on the in-district excess cost project. Provide updates to the Superintendent on a bi-weekly basis.

•Performs various projects as assigned by the Chief of Special Education.

SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE:

•Master’s Degree (Special Education preferred)

•092 Administrator’s Certification (CT)

•165 Special Education Certification (CT)

•Five years of teaching experience

•Three years of supervision in the field of special education

•Working knowledge of Connecticut State Department of Education Bureau of Special Education regulations

•Experience developing and delivering professional learning to teachers, related service providers, and administrators

•Experience interpreting and providing guidance aligned with Connecticut Special Education policy

•Demonstrated ability to provide sound guidance on topics related to special education legal matters

•Thorough knowledge of IDEA law and regulations, Parental Rights and Procedural Safeguards, and regulations regarding the identification and placement of students in public school special education programs, charter, private, and nonpublic schools.

This job description is not, nor is it intended to be, a complete statement of all duties, functions, responsibilities, qualifications, physical, and cognitive, which comprise this position. The above is intended to be a fair representation of the “typical” demands of the position. In all cases, these relationships, functions, and their applications are subject to change by the Superintendent.

It is the policy of the Bridgeport Board of Education not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, present or past mental disorder, mental retardation, or learning ability, in any of its education programs, activities, or employment practices. The Bridgeport Board of Education is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.