Managing Director of Student Supports
Description
Organization Overview
Excel Academy is a network of 5 schools in Massachusetts and Rhode Island that prepares students in grades 5-12 to succeed in high school and college and engage productively in their communities. The majority of our 1,700 students identify as Latinx or Hispanic and will be the first in their families to graduate from college. Families choose Excel because our students consistently outperform their peers in growth and achievement and are 5x more likely to graduate from college.
At Excel, we believe that every student—regardless of race, zip code, or economic status - deserves access to a free, high quality holistic education. During their middle school journey with us, students grow at a pace faster than most peers in their state. This is possible through a combination of high expectations, rigorous instruction, and individualized support. At our nationally ranked high school, students achieve at the highest level and are poised for success in their chosen college or career path.
About our Team
Everyday, our team members choose to be positive, drive their own growth, uplift one another, and hold the highest possible beliefs for what students can achieve.
About the Role
The Managing Director of Student Supports (MDSS) is a senior, network-level leader responsible for setting vision, building coherence, and strengthening how Excel Academy Charter Schools designs, delivers, and sustains student support systems across its schools. This role exists to ensure Excel's programmatic model–across states, gradebands, and tiers of support–is intentionally designed to support all learners, especially students with disabilities (SWDs) and multilingual learners (MLLs), in achieving their most ambitious personal goals.
The MDSS does not function as a day-to-day case manager nor compliance executor; their focus is on strategy, systems, and people. Via strong relationships, clear resources, and constant use of data, the MDSS creates the conditions for teachers and leaders to thrive. The MDSS is also a key thought partner for the broader network team, working to ensure that student supports are fully integrated into network decision-making and systems. This leader’s capacity to drive meaningful change and continuously improve will be critical as Excel prepares for future growth.
Salary: $110 - 170k, commensurate with experience
Your Impact
Set and Uphold a Clear Vision for Student Supports
- Establish and communicate a shared, network-wide approach to student supports, including Special Education, Multilingual Learner services, and academic and behavioral interventions
- Ensure this vision aligns with Excel’s instructional philosophy, and balances network consistency with school-based flexibility
Advance Inclusive Tier 1 Instruction
- Partner with network-based academic leaders to ensure Tier 1 instruction, curriculum decisions, and professional learning are designed to be inclusive and accessible for all learners, including students with disabilities and multilingual learners
- Collaborate across departments to reduce unnecessary separation between general education, special education and ESL services
Maintain MTSS Systems, and Strengthen Tier 2 and Tier 3 Supports
- Maintain and continuously improve MTSS systems for assessment, intervention and progress monitoring
- Lead the network team to define what high-quality specialized instruction looks like in both self-contained and inclusive instructional settings
- Support alignment between intervention, specialized programming, and core instruction
- Ensure school teams have the resources needed to effectively implement Tier 2 and Tier 3 with fidelity
Support and Develop School-Based Leaders
- Create clear role expectations and decision-making boundaries for Deans of Student Supports, in partnership with principals
- Design onboarding, professional learning, and collaboration structures that help Deans of Student Supports succeed and grow
- Support school leaders in developing strategy for building-based leadership of MLL instruction and services
- Support school leaders in effectively supervising, developing, and retaining student support leaders
- Identify growth opportunities that leverage internal talent and promote long-term leadership development
Student Support Staffing Models
- Set and uphold a clear vision of excellence for student support roles across the network, including learning specialists, interventionists, and other student support staff
- Define what strong student support staffing looks like at different school levels and in different contexts, recognizing that models may vary based on student need, school size, and team capacity
- Provide school leaders with frameworks, exemplars, and decision-making tools to help them:
- Design effective student support staffing models
- Allocate staff time strategically across Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 supports
- Balance instructional support, intervention, and case management responsibilities
- Collaborate with network finance and operations leaders to ensure student support staffing models are financially sustainable and reflected accurately in budgets and long-term planning
Oversee Student Support Case Management and Compliance
- Collaborate with the Director of Student Support Case Management to establish clear network-level expectations and processes related to legal and regulatory compliance, high-complexity student situations, high-cost or high-risk decisions and related service delivery and staffing models
- Directly manage the Director of Student Support Case Management to ensure that:
- Case management and compliance systems are being executed with fidelity
- Schools receive timely, high-quality support for compliance and complex student situations when needed
- Related services are being implemented with fidelity
- Ensure that interactions with external stakeholders are coordinated, consistent, and aligned with Excel’s values and approach to student supports. Oversee how the network engages with external partners, including:
- State and local education agencies
- External evaluators and service providers
- Advocates, attorneys, and other outside professionals when necessary
Integrate Student Supports into Network Operations and Decision-Making
- Collaborate closely with network leaders in finance, operations, data, and technology to ensure student support systems are reflected in core network structures
- Partner on budget modeling, staffing decisions, and resource allocation related to student supports.
- Ensure data systems accurately and meaningfully represent students receiving services and support informed decision-making at all levels of the organization.
Qualifications
- Demonstrated experience as a senior leader in student supports, special education, or inclusive academic systems, with responsibility for setting vision, leading adults, and designing systems across multiple teams or schools.
- Proven ability to lead through influence rather than authority, including partnering with school leaders, coaching senior staff, and facilitating collaboration across roles and departments.
- Strong judgment and problem-solving skills in complex, high-stakes situations involving students, families, compliance requirements, and resource tradeoffs
- Track record of building trust, developing leaders, and strengthening teams in environments that value collaboration, flexibility, and continuous improvement.
- Ability to work across functional areas (academics, operations, finance, data) to ensure student support priorities are integrated into broader organizational systems and decisions.
- Deep understanding of rigorous instructional practice across Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3, including how strong general education, intervention, and specialized supports work together to serve diverse learners
- Experience supporting or overseeing special education and multilingual learner systems in alignment with state and federal requirements (direct compliance management not required, but fluency is essential).
- Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree in education, leadership, or a related field preferred
Mission Alignment
- You share a commitment to and belief in all students and the mission of Excel Academy Charter Schools, including Excel’s values and educational model;
- You are committed to addressing racial and economic inequity in education;
- You work effectively in a team environment and have a willingness and desire to support others in doing their best work; and
- You are open to change, are willing to problem-solve, and seek feedback for your own professional growth and improvement.
Preference will be given to applicants who share points of intersection with our students, such as speaking Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, or a language commonly spoken by our students and families at an advanced level, being first generation college graduates, or having grown up low-income.
Excel Academy Charter Schools do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, ancestry, athletic performance, special need, proficiency in the English language or a foreign language or prior academic achievement.
Applications will be reviewed as they are received and candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.