Job Description

Job Title

Position Title: Senior Director of ESE Systems & Analytics

Location: Fisher Building, 3011 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit, MI 48202

Salary: $99,486 - $134,599

Reports to: Executive Director, Student Data & Accountability

Bargaining Unit: NA

Benefits Eligible: Yes

Telecommuting Eligibility: Eligible for telecommuting up to 20% (one day per week)

Position Summary:

The Senior Director of Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Systems & Analytics provides strategic leadership for the ESE Systems & Analytics team within the Student Data & Accountability division. The team administers, integrates, and supports PowerSchool Special Programs (PSSP), and bridges data quality between ESE and Student Information Services (SIS). PSSP is the district's primary special education data platform, carrying every student from birth through age 26, from initial evaluation through IEP development, service documentation, and state compliance reporting.

The Senior Director builds and leads this team, establishing systems, processes, and collaborative culture, and owns the district's PowerSchool relationship and the roadmap for improving the platform. The role sets the standard for data quality ahead of count windows, leads implementation of the district's multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) system, and connects compliance obligations to academic outcomes for students with IEPs. The Senior Director carries a clear point of view on how ESE and MTSS data drives action at the school level and the district level, partnering with Data Services to build the tools that make that possible. The role also serves as the primary liaison to the three ESE partner teams.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education : Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution with a focus in computer science, information systems, business administration, education administration, or a related field. Master's degree preferred

Essential Experiences and Competencies

• Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in student information systems, data systems administration, or a closely related technical leadership role.
• Experience managing or administering a large-scale student information or case management platform, PowerSchool Special Programs, PowerSchool SIS, or equivalent, including leading cross-functional teams or coordinating work across departments.
• Direct supervisory experience, including hiring, performance management, and professional development of staff. Experience standing up a new team or function preferred
• Familiarity with special education data systems, compliance timelines, and IEP-related workflows.
• Demonstrated ability to build and manage vendor relationships, including contract oversight, escalation, and advocacy for platform improvements.
• Experience translating complex technical system requirements into practical solutions for non-technical end users.
• Demonstrated ability to turn system data into insight and action, including defining reporting needs, interpreting results for both practitioners and executives, and driving decisions from what the data shows.
• Working knowledge of MTSS frameworks and tiered intervention data practices.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex technical and compliance information to senior leadership and Cabinet-level audiences.
• Strong project management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, compliance-driven environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with PowerSchool Special Programs (PSSP) backend configuration.
• Familiarity with data integration techniques, API or flat-file data pipelines, SIS-to-platform data governance, and data quality review practices.
• Experience in a K-12 school district or state education agency setting, including knowledge of IDEA, Michigan special education law, and IEP compliance processes.
• Experience implementing or administering an MTSS or intervention-tracking platform in a K-12 setting.

Essential Functions:

Team Leadership & Organizational Development

• Lead, develop, and manage the ESE Systems & Analytics team, and build the structures a new function needs: workflows, operating norms, onboarding, and documentation standards
• Set annual team goals aligned to divisional strategic priorities and ESE operational needs, and manage performance for direct and indirect reports through coaching, feedback, and professional development

Platform & Vendor Strategy

• Own the district's relationship with the PowerSchool vendor for PSSP: contract terms, configuration and customization requests, and issue escalation. Lead a baseline audit establishing what is out-of-box versus Detroit-specific, and build the system improvement roadmap from the findings.
• Set the standards and approval gates that govern PSSP configuration: require test environment validation before production deployment, approve changes that carry compliance or state reporting risk, and decide what the team builds and in what order.
• In collaboration with the Data Services team, ensure that PSSP data is structured and accessible for ingestion into the district's data warehouse, enabling dynamic reporting through DataCom for district-level analysts.

Data Quality, Compliance & Analytics

• Oversee data quality monitoring: set standards and review cadences tied to the district's pupil accounting calendar, and ensure IEP data, caseload records, and documentation in PSSP, EdPlan, and Catamaran are reconciled before each count window, so errors are caught before they reach the state.
• With the academics division, define what outcome monitoring means for the IEP population, and partner with Data Services to build the data infrastructure that tracks whether students receiving services are making academic progress.
• Set the district's point of view on how ESE and MTSS data gets used: define the questions the data should answer, the audiences it serves, and the decisions it should inform at the school, network, and central office levels.
• Build the district's capability to document and monitor pre-referral interventions in PSSP or a companion platform, so MTSS data supports consistent decisions about referral, eligibility, and exit.

Partnership & External Representation

• Serve as the leadership-level liaison to the three ESE partner teams: Ancillary Services, Enrollment & Placement, and ESE Compliance. Hold regular touchpoints with their leads, keep the roadmap aligned to their operational needs, and resolve the system issues, data quality problems, and process breakdowns that cross team boundaries.
• Advocate for PSSP as a district-wide special programs platform and plan its extension to populations it currently underserves, including 504, multilingual education, and gifted students
• Identify opportunities for consolidation and cost savings where overlapping contracts duplicate PSSP.
• Manage state reporting relationships with CEPI and Wayne RESA, coordinating accurate and timely submission of special education files, including the split between early intervention files (Wayne RESA) and all others (SIS).
• Represent the district on PSSP and related platforms in PowerSchool user communities, advisory boards, state and local committees, and district data governance discussions with the SIS, ESE, and academics divisions.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Executive Director, Student Data & Accountability.

Security Clearance:

Internal Applicants

If you are a current Detroit Public Schools Community District employee, you do not have to submit to a new security clearance, unless your new role requires a different type of criminal background check.

External Applicants

In alignment with Michigan law, if you are hired to fill a position, you will be required to submit to a Detroit Public Schools Community District criminal background check. Information regarding required background checks will be shared at point of hire.

Method of Application:

Applicants must apply through the online application system. Only applications submitted through the online application system will be considered for any posted position and all applications require a resume to be considered.

Successful candidates are required to submit official transcript(s) at point of offer to hire. Teaching service outside of the Detroit Public Schools Community District must be verified by the applicant's prior employer(s) prior to hire. It is the applicant's responsibility to provide all documentation (including copies) as requested.

Applicants requesting assistance during the application process should contact the Office of Human Resources via email at [email protected] or phone at (313) 873-6897.