Duties
Lake Forest School District 67 is seeking a full-time, 11 month Coordinator of Teaching, Learning, and Student Services for the 2026-2027 school year.
Description: The Coordinator of Teaching, Learning, and Student Services provides districtwide instructional leadership for students with disabilities and for general education students requiring targeted and intensive academic support. This role serves as a critical bridge between Teaching and Learning, Special Education, and Student Services, ensuring that core instruction, inclusive practices, and intervention systems are aligned and implemented with fidelity across the PreK-8 continuum.
The Coordinator leads and supports the design, implementation, and monitoring of the district's continuum of services across general and specialized education settings, including co-teaching, targeted instructional supports, strategic reading and math courses, intervention programming, and MTSS structures. This position ensures that instructional programming for all learners (including students with disabilities) is aligned to district curriculum, grounded in evidence-based practices, and responsive to student outcome data.
In collaboration with district and building leaders, the Coordinator supports general education teaching and learning through curriculum alignment, instructional decision-making, and assessment literacy, while also overseeing MTSS alignment, assessment accommodations, and progress monitoring systems. Ongoing analysis of student growth data (e.g., MAP, FastBridge) is used to strengthen core instruction, target interventions, and ensure that students with disabilities and other at-risk learners demonstrate meaningful academic growth and access to high-quality instruction.
Essential Functions:
Instructional Leadership & Continuum of Services
- Provides districtwide leadership for inclusive instructional practices, including co-teaching, targeted SDI, strategic reading and math courses, and interventions
- Partners with building administrators to support instructional decision-making related to inclusion, intervention intensity, staffing models, and service delivery for students with disabilities to ensure consistency, quality, and alignment with district goals across all elementary and middle schools
- Collaborates with the Coordinator of Specialized Programs to ensure alignment across the continuum of services and smooth transitions for students requiring increasing or decreasing levels of support
- Ensures a coherent PreK-8 continuum of services that aligns special education service delivery with district curriculum, instructional priorities, and MTSS frameworks
- Oversees the development and maintenance of curriculum maps and instructional frameworks for all special education courses and interventions including special education curriculum adoptions
- Models and supports effective instructional and assessment practices that promote access, rigor, and student independence
- Coordinates articulation processes for students transitioning within the district (PreK-K, 4th-5th, and 8th-9th), ensuring continuity of instructional programming, services, and supports
- Collects, analyzes, and uses data to evaluate service delivery effectiveness, identify trends, and guide continuous improvement of specialized services
- Provides shared oversight of Extended School Year (ESY) programming, with a focus on instructional coherence, staffing, and student monitoring
- Supports recruitment, hiring, and onboarding processes for special education and student services staff members to ensure strong staff and role alignment
MTSS & Intervention Coordination
- Serves as the district lead for MTSS structures related to intervention planning, progress monitoring, and decisions to intensify interventions, in collaboration with Teaching and Learning and building administrators
- Supports schools in implementing high-quality universal, targeted, and intensive instruction with fidelity
- Supports schools teams through MTSS data review processes, helping teams analyze student data to evaluate intervention effectiveness and make informed instructional decisions aligned with evidence-based practices
- Collaborates with building leaders to ensure clear decision-making and communication structures for movement within and across tiers of support
- Serves as an integral member of MTSS and instructional data review meetings, supporting teams in analyzing student data and informing instructional decision-making
Data, Assessment & Progress Monitoring
- Ensures consistent progress monitoring systems are implemented across PreK-8 for students receiving targeted and intensive supports
- Leads ongoing review of student growth data (e.g., IAR, MAP, FastBridge, curriculum-based measures) to inform instructional adjustments and program effectiveness
- Supports monitoring of instructional effectiveness and student growth outcomes for students with disabilities and students receiving intensive interventions, and collaborates with building administrators and the Director of Special Education and Student Services to identify and support instructional adjustments when progress is insufficient
- Partners with the Director of Teaching and Learning to oversee districtwide assessment processes (IAR, SAEBRS, CSCI, ISA, universal screeners, FastBridge), including materials ordering, scheduling, administration logistics, and return of materials
- Partners with the Student Data Testing Coordinator to oversee the assessment accommodations process, ensuring accurate documentation, staff training, and compliance
Supervision and Evaluation
- Supervises and evaluates assigned special education teachers, teaching assistants, and related service providers supporting students with extensive support and behavioral needs, in collaboration with the Director of Special Education and Student Services
- Supports school teams in analyzing student data to inform decisions regarding teaching assistant support, including implementation monitoring and fade planning, in collaboration with IEP teams and building administrators
- Co-leads the development and implementation of districtwide systems and decision-making frameworks for Teaching Assistant (TA) utilization, including criteria for assignment, monitoring, and fade planning to support student independence and access
Professional Learning & Coaching
- Designs and delivers professional learning and provides ongoing coaching and feedback to staff on:
- Co-teaching models and effective implementation
- High-quality specially designed instruction (SDI)
- Strategic reading and math instruction and intervention
- Progress monitoring and data-based decision making
- Effective use of teaching assistants and related service providers within the classroom
- Coordinates and leads new teacher onboarding and training to ensure clarity of instructional expectations, high-quality IEP and 504 development, implementation of district-approved curriculum, and consistent use of progress monitoring systems
- Coordinates and leads teaching assistant onboarding and training to ensure clarity of roles and responsibilities, effective support of instructional and behavioral plans, accurate implementation of IEP and 504 accommodations, and consistent data collection and progress monitoring
- Provides targeted instructional coaching and technical assistance to teachers, teaching assistants, interventionists, and related service staff to improve instructional effectiveness and increase the percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards
- Partners with building principals to strategically schedule co-teaching teams, protect planning time, and design professional learning that strengthens instructional practices for students with disabilities within general education settings
LEA Responsibilities
- Serves as the Primary LEA representative for triennial evaluations for select students ensuring legal compliance, high-quality evaluation practices, and defensible IEP development
- Ensures adherence to procedural safeguards, timelines, documentation standards, and transition requirements
- Identifies areas of compliance risk and collaborates with district leadership to proactively address concerns related to eligibility, accommodations, placements and service delivery
Collaboration, Compliance and Systems Alignment
- Ensures instructional practices and service delivery models are legally compliant and aligned with IDEA, Section 504, and Board policy
- Facilitates month DSS team and problem-solving meetings to ensure alignment with district goals, systems, and student outcomes
- Supports transitions across grade levels and programs, including Early Childhood to Kindergarten, 4th to 5th grade and 8th to high school
- Collaborates with Teaching & Learning, Student Services, and building administrators to ensure shared ownership of outcomes for students with disabilities
- Facilitates parent meetings and workshops and supports district newsletters to strengthen family communication and engagement
Other Responsibilities
- Complies with applicable Board of Education and administrative policies and regulations
- Chairs and/or co-chairs the MTSS committee and other committees as requested by Director of Special Education and Student Services
- Performs other duties as assigned
Professional Responsibilities
- Maintains confidentiality of school matters
- Communicates effectively with students, parents, staff, and other professionals
- Collaborates with peers to enhance the work culture and support instructional planning
- Maintains and continually develops an in-depth knowledge and comprehensive understanding of the principles of site-based management and its techniques
- Works harmoniously and effectively with teachers, students, parents and district administrators to accomplish the goals of the position
- Models high standards of professionalism in all situations
- Maintains visibility, accessibility and approachability and represent the district with passion, dignity and pride in the school community
- Stays current regarding state and national standards, benchmarks, and frameworks for elementary and middle school curriculum
- Stays current regarding state and national standards, benchmarks, and frameworks for student services
- Builds an environment of trust through communication and transparency about decisions and how they are made
Qualifications
Qualifications:
Education, Experience, and Licensure (required):
- Valid Illinois Professional Educator License (PEL) with an elementary or middle school endorsement or LBS1, school psychologist, speech pathologist, or social work endorsement required.
- Administrative endorsement (General Administrative, Principal, or Teacher Leader) required
- Completion of Illinois Performance Evaluation Growth Through Learning training modules (PERA-qualified)
- Minimum of five (5) years of successful experience in elementary/middle school education or special education
- Strong background in curriculum and instruction, assessment, instructional best practices, SDI, co-teaching, intervention and progress monitoring
- Demonstrated experience using student outcome data to guide instructional decision making
- Experience supporting MTSS frameworks, progress monitoring, and intervention systems
- Instructional coaching experience strongly preferred
Competencies (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities):
- Strong communication, collaboration and organizational skills
- Deep knowledge of inclusive practices, teaching and learning, and specially designed instruction, with a strong understanding of instructional decision-making for students with disabilities
- Ability to lead IEP teams and facilitate difficult conversations with clarity and professionalism
- Skill in coaching and supervising multidisciplinary staff across multiple buildings
- Data-literate with the ability to interpret academic, behavioral, and functional data to guide service delivery improvement
- Strong organizational skills and attention to compliance timelines and documentation requirements
- Effective communicator with families, staff, administrators, and external agencies
- Ability to balance instructional leadership with operational and compliance responsibilities
- Demonstrated ability to problem-solve and adapt services to meet student needs across diverse settings
Additional Notes
Physical Demands & Work Environment:
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand, walk, talk or hear, and taste or smell. The employee frequently is required to use hands to handle or feel materials. The employee is occasionally required to climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 30 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
In the work environment, the employee is regularly exposed to video display and regularly works in office environmental conditions. The employee occasionally works in the evenings or on weekends. The employee is occasionally exposed to outdoor weather conditions and occasionally works with the use of a personal vehicle. The employee with have contact with the public which required appropriate demeanor and apparel. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
The physical demands and work environment described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.