Job Description

POSITION: Director of Special Education Evaluation

REPORTS TO: Managing Director of Special Populations - Elementary

POSITION TYPE: 12-month

START DATE: Immediate

COMPENSATION: $80,942- $99,154, Home Office Grade 8

At YES Prep, work for a mission that impacts the life trajectory of students and their families. YES Prep creates pathways to extraordinary opportunity through best-in-class development, competitive compensation and benefits, and recognition for your impact. Grow as an authentic leader and be part of a high-performing, team-oriented culture.

Some quick stats about us:

• 21,000 Students
• 2,600 Team Members
• 16 Secondary Campuses
• 12 Elementary Campuses
• 91% Students Who Qualify for Free/Reduced-Price Lunch
• 96% Hispanic & African-American Students
• 99% Students Who Are Accepted to a 4-Year University
• 85% First-Generation College Students
• Ranked in the Top 100 High Schools in the Nation, U.S. News & World Report

We serve the students of Houston, Texas, the 4th largest city across the United States. There are over 20 public-school districts and other great public charter school options within Houston’s city limits serving our increasing population.

THE PERSON

YES Prep needs a dynamic Director-Special Education Evaluation with a robust set of experiences to make our mission a reality. As a YES Prep employee, you will achieve jaw-dropping results, create pathways to opportunity for our students, and build transformative relationships.

To put it simply, you will lead programming for district-wide special education evaluation and services.

THE ROLE

When you join the YES Prep team, some of the work and responsibilities will include:

• Setting a vision of excellence for the special education assessment team, leading all team members to achieve that vision, and
• Strategically assigning a team of Speech-Language pathologists, School Psychologists, and Educational Diagnosticians at various campuses throughout the YES Prep Public School system;
• Managing three managers on the Assessment team to ensure compliance with evaluation timelines, service hours, progress notes, and other responsibilities;
• Working strategically with the Director of Special Education to ensure that YES Prep Public Schools is delivering world-class speech therapy, counseling as a related service, evaluation, and assessment to students and families;
• Leading, managing, and supporting assessment team staff, while serving your own caseload, such that all assessment team members deliver quality evaluations and services;
• Planning team meetings and development experiences for the assessment team, including scheduling outside presenters;
• Collaborating with school administrators, classroom teachers, parents, and Special Education teachers to communicate evaluation, speech therapy, and counseling as a related service procedures and progress;
• Collaborating with the Manager of Special Education compliance to ensure that Special Education documentation and record-keeping is accurate and timely;
• Ensuring that assessment results are communicated in a way that supports and motivates excellent services for students with special needs;
• Establishing systems and processes to identify evaluation activities used to meet the needs of students with disabilities.
• Providing leadership for campus administration, evaluation team, and case managers in understanding the relationship between disabilities, eligibility, curriculum, instruction, and state assessment.
• Establishing district processes and procedures for evaluation services in order to identify students who are eligible and in need of special education services.
• Establishing processes to align evaluation in a related service area with other evaluation requirements for students eligible for one or more of these activities.
• Reviewing districtwide evaluation data to manage timelines, allocate resources, and arrange for contract vendor support during high-volume periods;
• Managing and authorizing family requests for Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs) and coordinating expectations with outside providers;
• Overseeing the submission of state compliance metrics for State Performance Plan (SPP) Indicators 11 and 12 which govern timely initial evaluations and early childhood transitions;
• Additional duties as assigned.

THE PERSON

We seek staff with a multitude of backgrounds, talents, interests, and ideas. Certain traits consistently shine through our most successful employees: passion for the mission, drive for results, care for students, and resilience. Other traits needed and desired for this role are:

THE MUST HAVES

• Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited four-year educational institution
• Master’s degree in Speech Pathology from an accredited college or university
• American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) Certification and Licensure
• Speech and Hearing Therapy Certificate, or Speech and Language Therapy Certification, or State Certification and licensure as a Speech-Language Pathologist
• 7 or more years of progressive experience in special education evaluation, related services, or assessment leadership roles.
• 3 or more years of experience supervising multidisciplinary teams of licensed professionals.
• Valid state license as an Educational Diagnostician, School Psychologist, or Speech-Language Pathologist, plus administrative certification.
• Experience leading district-wide initiatives related to special education evaluations, program improvement, continuous improvement planning, and service delivery models.
• Proven ability to analyze and utilize evaluation, compliance, and student performance data to drive strategic decision-making, resource allocation, and operational effectiveness.
• Experience developing and delivering professional learning for educational diagnosticians, school psychologists, speech-language pathologists, administrators, and campus-based staff.
• Demonstrated success in fostering collaboration with a variety of stakeholders, including families, campus leaders, community partners, and state or regional agencies to improve outcomes for students with disabilities.
• Experience managing department budgets, staffing allocations, and strategic planning within a large urban school district.

THE MUST HAVE BELIEFS

• Belief in and commitment to the mission and core values of YES Prep Public Schools
• Desire to disrupt systemic status quos in education
• Willingness to go above and beyond to disrupt said status quos
• Passion to develop resiliency through a relentless pursuit of jaw-dropping results
• Conviction that high expectations + high accountability = high performance and high growth

THE NICE TO HAVES

• Certification as an Educational Diagnostician, School Psychologist/LSSP, or Special Education Administrator.
• Experience leading initiatives to address disproportionality, equal-access, and appropriately responsive evaluation practices.

THE PERKS

• · Compensation – This position is an exempt, salaried position; offers commensurate with experience.
• · Health and Supplemental Insurance – A $0 monthly medical option or a $24 monthly option that includes $50 YES Prep Paid Health Savings Account contribution, in addition to a variety of supplemental benefits including Dental, Vision, Disability, Life, etc. Employees must work 20+ hours a week to be eligible for a full spectrum of benefits, and 10 hours a week minimum for medical benefits.
• Retirement Plans – Participation in Teacher Retirement System of Texas and an optional 457b Retirement Plan.
• Paid Time Off – Employees working 20+ hours a week receive 15 days of Paid Time Off in addition to the system closures during the Academic Calendar.
• Paid Leave Programming – In the event you need to be out due to medical needs (including maternity and paternity leave), YES Prep offers paid leave, paid out at 100%, based on eligibility and tenure.
• Professional Development - YES Prep values longevity and performance over time. We invest in developing leaders through high-quality programs, effective coaching, and ongoing professional development.
• Award Winning Culture – The strong cultures of our campuses and Home Office are just one of many reasons we were named Houston’s Best Place To Work in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2025. We won the 2012 Broad Prize for Excellence in Urban Education and were a 2016 finalist as well.

YES Prep is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression, national origin, disability, age, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or parenthood.