About Achievement First
Achievement First (AF) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization supporting 39 public charter schools across New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. For more than 25 years, AF has been recognized as one of the top tuition-free public charter school networks in the country. We are committed to creating schools of academic excellence within nurturing environments — schools that prepare students to be college-ready and to pursue and succeed in whatever paths they choose in life.
The majority of AF students are Black and Latinx children from low-income families, many of whom will be the first in their families to graduate from college. Across our network, we employ more than 2,200 staff members — 64% of whom identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color — who collectively educate nearly 15,000 students in Brooklyn and Queens, NY; New Haven, Bridgeport, and Hartford, CT; and Providence and Cranston, RI.
Our mission is to prepare every student to excel in college, career, and life; deepen their understanding of self and community; and lead lives of purpose. We believe in the limitless potential within our students and their power to shape a more just society. That belief drives our deep commitment to student achievement: we aim to set a high bar for learning and create warm, demanding classrooms where rigorous instruction is paired with the care, encouragement, and consistency every student deserves.
We are looking for a strategic and dynamic Associate Chief, Special Services to join our Special Services team.
Your Impact
The Associate Chief, Special Services sets the vision and strategy for how every Achievement First school serves students with disabilities and multilingual learners across New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. You will lead the regional Managing Directors of Special Services and the network leads for Multilingual Learner (MLL) and Specialized Workshop/Classroom (SW/C) programming, building a team that holds schools to both 100% legal compliance and real academic growth. You will partner closely with principals, regional superintendents, the Legal and Operations teams and local sending districts so that every scholar receives the services they are entitled to, delivered in a way that expands their opportunities. You will also own outcomes for a portfolio of schools, writing and facilitating professional development for school leaders and coaching your team to do the same. This role is for a proven special education leader who believes our students with IEPs, 504 plans and MLL needs deserve the same rigor, joy and high expectations as every other AF scholar, and who can build the systems that make that true at scale.
Reporting to the Chief of Academic Programs your responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Set the Vision and Strategy for Special Services
Draft and refine a network-wide Special Services vision that connects legal compliance to strong academic outcomes for students with disabilities and MLLs
Set annual Special Services goals across three regions and monitor progress against them throughout the year
Align SW/C, MLL and inclusion programming with AF's curriculum and instructional priorities in partnership with the Chief of Academic Programs
Anticipate shifts in state and federal special education requirements and adjust strategy before they become compliance risks
Lead and Develop a Senior Team
Manage six direct reports, including regional Managing Directors and the MLL and SW/C program leads, with clear roles, measures of success and development goals
Build management structures such as regular check-ins, data reviews and school visit protocols that help your team grow and deliver for schools
Hold your team to high customer service standards with principals, families and district partners
Hire, evaluate, coach and, when needed, make hard personnel decisions with warmth and clarity
Drive Results and Compliance for Scholars
Hold a portfolio of schools accountable for…