JOB ID: 4659 - Director of Special Services - Full-time position available 07/01/2026.
Location: District Office
Scheduled Hours/Days: Full-time, year round.
Qualifications:
Northfield Public Schools is seeking a skilled, forward-thinking, equity-minded Director of Special Services who is committed to preparing every student for lifelong success. The successful candidate will ensure an exemplary school culture where students, families, and staff feel safe, welcomed, and valued. The successful candidate will prioritize academic excellence by ensuring achievement of the school district's strategic plan vision, commitments, and benchmarks. Prior experience working with diverse student populations is preferred. A current Minnesota Director of Special Education license is required.
Under the direction of the Superintendent, the Director of Special Services directs, develops and provides ongoing leadership for coordinated and comprehensive Special Education services, within established policies, goals and philosophies of the Northfield School District and any applicable Federal or State mandates, which provides education and special services for students with special needs. Programmatic responsibilities include special education, multilingual services, Title I services, Section 504, School Health Services, School Social Work, and School Psychology.
The successful candidate will be skilled in:
Leadership, including providing purpose and direction for groups and individuals, facilitating the development of a shared vision for the school, and formulating goals and planning changes with the staff by setting priorities in terms of the community, the district, staff, and students.
Cultural competency to effectively serve district staff, students, families, and community members from diverse backgrounds.
Information collection, including gathering facts and data, seeking knowledge of policies, rules, laws, precedents and practices, managing data flow, and classifying and organizing information for decision making and monitoring.
Problem analysis including analyzing information, framing issues and identifying causes, seeking additional information, framing and reframing possible solutions, demonstrating conceptual flexibility and assisting others in forming opinions.
Judgment, including the ability to formulate logical conclusions from quality and timely decisions, adaptability and the ability to prioritize.
Organizational oversight, including scheduling work to use resources appropriately to meet goals, scheduling activity flow, monitoring procedures to regulate activities, as well as project deadlines.
Implementation, including putting programs into action, facilitating coordination and collaboration of tasks, establishing checkpoints and monitoring progress, providing corrections when required, and supporting those who are responsible.
Delegation of authority, including assigning tasks so that they can be accomplished in a timely and appropriate manner, utilizing subordinates appropriately, and follows up on work tasks.
Ability to accommodate cognition and achievement differences.
Written and oral communications.
The ability to transport self among district buildings and to regional and state meetings and workshops as necessary.
Pay Rate/Range: Base Salary starting at $181,533 - Subject to change upon the settlement of the 2026-28 Northfield Non-Union Administrators Agreement.
Compensation/Benefits/Perks:
Comprehensive and affordable benefits package including:
Medical. Dental. Vision.
Life/AD&D, and Long-Term Disability Coverage.
403 (b) Plan and District Match
District Paid Life Insurance
Deadline: 3/5/2026 - EOE (2/12/2026) Employment is contingent upon completion of a background check.
*Applicants must upload a minimum of 3 current letters of recommendation.
Responsibilities:
Program Planning and Development
Establishes those policies and protocols required to create and sustain a coordinated and comprehensive array of Special Education services that consistently meets the needs of students served.
Staffs the department with highly competent individuals whose preparation, interests and work standards are consistent with District expectations.
Plans and designs overall program guidelines in conjunction with other administrators to foster communication and incorporation of special education services into a single, flexible and district wide system.
Program Implementation and Management
Provides planning, direction and operational leadership for all program areas to ensure compliance with all applicable mandates, guidelines, outcomes, measurements and required reporting of program activities.
Evaluates existing public and private programs within the District for students with disabilities; determines if programs are duplicated or overlapped; and develops policies and protocols for coordination of such programs.
Monitors and evaluates special education programs and IEPs for compliance with State and Federal rules and prepares various reports regarding program statistics, student numbers served and types of services provided.
Evaluates cooperative programs outside the District and approves enrollment in selected programs for students with disabilities.
Identifies and arranges for special resources needed for students with disabilities, including the determination of need for low incidence consultants and preparing special funding requests for special students covering instructional equipment and supplies.
Administers Special Education finances, including monitoring expenditures, to ensure compliance with applicable legal/regulatory guidelines on funds disbursement.
Develops and maintains a system for the identification, placement and monitoring of special needs students served within and outside the District.
Develops and maintains an Early Childhood Special Education program.
Supervises personally or as a team member and coordinates school programs e.g. early childhood special education and K-12 special education and transition programs.
Coordinates District homebound instruction, including the provision of direction and supervision for the District's itinerant staff (health services providers, psychologists, social workers, etc.) in cooperation with building principals.
Maintains active membership in professional associations in order to stay current and provide excellence in instructional and managerial leadership.
Other Job-Related Responsibilities
Performs other job-related responsibilities as scheduled or requested.
Northfield Public Schools
life insurance
Feb 13, 2026