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Roles - Responsibilities - Education

Present and past combined, examples of my skillsets are below.

Leadership

  • Staff leadership of over 200 Special Education staff and related service providers at current position

  • Responsible for crisis recovery planning for district-wide health services

  • Lead a co-located mental health service model, which I was instrumental in creating

  • A member of the executive leadership teams / cabinets at each district in which I have been employed

  • A Minnesota Administrators of Special Education (MASE) executive team member periodically over the past 20+ years

Legislative Action & Advocacy

  • Onoing Minnesota legislative consulting, for drafting and passage of legislation impacting special education

  • Recognized as a state leader in special education issues

  • Tri-Chair on Minnesota Administrators of Special Education (MASE) Legislative Committee​

  • Participant in statewide quality enhancement projects, including:

    • Alternative assessment standards development​

    • Assistive technology

    • Post-school follow-up

    • Alternative delivery models for specialized instruction​

Collaboration

  • Participate with educational foundations to raise support for key initiatives

  • Experience with multiple city councils concerning funding requests and deliberations for expanded programming

  • Meet weekly (virtually) with job-alike partners from other districts state-and-nation-wide 

    • Share best practices​

    • Problem solve key issues

    • Develop strategies to improve teacher wellness and student achievement

  • Work with social service agency of neighboring county - Hennepin County, the most populous in Minnesota with a very diverse population - to develop a comprehensive mental health continuum of care for all children in the state

  • Lead and participate in panel discussion on mental health and safety, COVID protocols and school finance

Research & Evaluation

  • Lead efforts on implementation of district-wide assessment measures and interpretation of results

    • Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA)​

    • Aimsweb

    • Panorama

  • Facilitate focus groups and advisory committees to gather stakeholder information to inform program development

  • Create strategic outcomes and identify key performance indicators

  • Participate in continuous improvement efforts with the Minnesota Department of Education

  • Conduct ongoing student and staff surveys on topics such as:​​

    • Culture​ and climate

    • Wellness

    • Socio-economic proficiency

Program Design

  • A leader in Special Education best practices, including:

    • Universal design principles​

    • Assistive technology

    • Linking assessment to instruction

    • Accommodations

    • Federal and state regulations

    • Integrative collaboratives

    • Social Emotional Learning

    • School-based mental health

  • Some program design highlights, current and past

    • Special education recovery services

    • Numerous community partnerships with common outcomes

    • Creation of programming in partnership with DePaul University to effectively intervene on teacher-student relationships (TCIT)

Consultation & Speaking

  • Certified consultant in educational crisis triage systems (certified PREPaRE Crisis Trainer), including:

    • Needs assessment​

    • Program development

    • Training and implementation

  • Speaking, training and consulting

    • Special Education finance

    • Mental health​ (all ages)

    • Crisis interventions

    • Behavioral issues and interventions

    • The effect of stress on development, educational performance and teacher effectiveness

    • Parenting

    • Teacher Child Interaction Training (TCIT), including the staff training model my team developed, used in multiple Minnesota school districts

Fiscal & Staff Management

  • Management of budgets in excess of $20 million at numerous districts that I have served

  • Grant-writing on all government levels

  • Allocation of appropriate staffing levels for district-wide support services, including ongoing monitoring and adjustment

  • Training and consultation to new special education leaders on educator staffing and finance

  • Develop comprehensive staffing models based on work load, drawing on multiple variables, to weight each special education position​

Quality Management

  • District health protocols and services

    • Safe conditions​

    • Quarantine and isolation procedures

    • Testing protocols

    • Vaccination clinics

  • Assess special education programming and outcomes for all students age 0-21

    • State and federal requirements 

    • Staffing and programming levels

    • State and federal funds compliance

  • Yearly compliance training

    • Special education programming​

    • State fiscal compliance and monitoring

    • Federal fiscal compliance and monitoring

  • Corrective action programming tied to state and federal regulatory requirements

Dispute Resolution & Mediation

  • Skilled in conflict resolution processes

    • Conciliation​

    • Facilitation

    • Mediation

  • Responsible for ongoing management of school and parent relationships

  • Active voice in community and school issues, gathering stakeholder input to arrive at mutually agreeable outcomes

  • Trained as a Marriage and Family Therapist (MA) 

  • Provide trainings on working with individuals dealing with chronic stress and mental illness

Parent & Stakeholder Engagement

  • Work closely with Special Education Advisory Council of current district, as well as similar groups in previous positions

  • Serve on several internal committees 

  • Gather stakeholder input to develop and achieve optimal outcomes for all parties

  • Continue to hold to an open-door policy for all, including parents, staff, students and interested community members

Education

  • Certificate - Special Education Administration

    • St Cloud State University​

  • EdS - School Psychology

    • University of South Dakota​

  • MA - Marriage & Family Therapy

    • North American Baptist Seminary​

  • BA - Psychology

    • University of Sioux Falls​

  • BS - Biology

    • University of Sioux Falls​​

Professional Licenses & Certifications

  • Licensed Director of Special Education

    • MN Department of Education​

  • Licensed School Psychologist

    • Mn Department of Eduation​

  • Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, inactive

    • MN Board of Marriage & Family Therapy​

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