Assistant Dean, SPED Clinical Experience

Location: Flexible within the US

Type: Full-time

Team: Teacher Preparation

Start Date: August 11, 2025

Priority Application Review Deadline: June, 16th 2025

Summary:

Relay Graduate School of Education (Relay) is an accredited not-for-profit institution of higher education serving thousands of educators from across the country, from pre-service teachers to system-level leaders. Our mission is to ensure that all students are taught by excellent educators, in order to build a more just world where every student has a clear path to a fulfilling life.

The Teacher Preparation Instructional Team at Relay Graduate School of Education is dedicated to fostering pedagogical excellence and providing comprehensive student support for both pre-service and in-service teachers. The division oversees academic programs, faculty, and student support across all licensure- and degree-granting components. 

The Assistant Dean, SPED Clinical Experience is a key leader on the Teacher Preparation team, responsible for driving excellence across Relay’s General Special Education, Early Childhood Special Education, and Advanced Certificate programs. Reporting to the Dean of Teacher Programs, this role ensures programs are supported by innovative systems, curricula, and policies that integrate seamlessly with clinical experiences and prepare educators to meet diverse learning needs. The Assistant Dean collaborates cross-functionally and engages internal and external stakeholders to advance Relay’s mission of educational equity.

This position requires a visionary educator who can balance strategic leadership with hands-on faculty responsibilities. The Assistant Dean will manage a multi-tiered team and make data-informed decisions to improve student outcomes across SPED programs. We seek a candidate with demonstrated expertise in special education and culturally responsive, inclusive pedagogy—and exceptional people and project management skills. The ideal candidate will bring adaptive leadership skills, a commitment to continuous improvement, and the ability to empower faculty and students toward holistic growth and achievement for all learners.

Role’s Contributions (Duties and Responsibilities): 

The essential responsibilities of this position, while not limited to the following, will include: 

Cross-Program Leadership (45%)

• Programmatic Design:
• Lead cross-program planning efforts related to programmatic design and effectiveness.
• Inform the vision and strategy for the Early Childhood Special Education, Special Education, and Advanced Certificate in Special Education programs
• Evaluate and refine programmatic elements continuously based on data and best practices
• Curriculum Design:
• Drive innovation across Early Childhood Special Education, Special Education, and Clinical Practice Special Education curricula through systematic review and revision processes
• Develop coherent learning progressions to develop critical knowledge and skills within and across programs, ensuring seamless student development.
• Lead collaborative design processes aligned to institutional and team priorities
• Regulatory Compliance:
• Support accreditation and regulatory reporting by organizing evidence, synthesizing data, and drafting documentation under the Dean’s guidance.
• Ensure multi-program alignment with evolving state standards through proactive interpretation and implementation strategies.
• Identify and mitigate risks to program quality, faculty development, compliance, and student outcomes.
• Strategic Planning
• Design and execute change management frameworks that drive successful adoption of new processes, systems, courses, and policies within and across programs.
• Manage cross-program projects to achieve strategic goals.

Faculty Development & Management (35%)

• Manage and develop Professors, Design, Clinical Practice/Teaching Exceptional Learners to ensure high-quality coursework design
• Manage and develop Professors, Clinical Practice/Teaching Exceptional Learners to support consistent and high-quality instruction, student support, and management of adjunct and field supervision faculty
• Provide coaching, professional development, performance reviews to faculty in the Clinical Practice/Teaching Exceptional Learners department

Teaching & Design Responsibilities (15%)

• Teach 1-3 courses at least once per academic year, delivering engaging and effective instruction to classes of approximately 50 students.
• Provide culturally responsive, inclusive, actionable, and timely feedback to students
• Design engaging and effective asynchronous or synchronous learning experiences in at least one course per academic year

Institutional Strategy and Service (5%)

• Serve the institution through committee, working group, and/or board membership.

QUALIFICATIONS

First and foremost, the Assistant Dean, SPED Clinical Experience must share the Relay community’s commitment to working together to improve student growth and achievement through phenomenal teacher preparation grounded in diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism. This includes providing teacher preparation programs that set novice teachers up to succeed in the classroom from day one; leadership programs that train new and veteran school and district leaders to best serve their school communities; and teacher-facing professional education that provides ongoing learning to educators. Additionally, for this position we’re looking for candidates that possess a combination of the following skills:

• Minimum of 5 years of classroom teaching experience in Teaching Exceptional Learners/Special Education
• Graduate degree (Master’s required; Doctorate preferred) in special education, education, leadership, or a related field
• Licensure or degree in Special Education
• Knowledge of current research and best practices in Teaching Exceptional Learners/Special Education (birth - grade 12)
• Knowledge of current research and best practices in the Science of Teaching Reading
• Demonstrated experience in designing curriculum and/or professional learning for adult learners.
• Experience coaching/mentoring teachers or teacher candidates
• Evidence using online modalities to teach adult learners via collegiate courses and/or school based professional development 
• Proven track record of leading team development
• Proven project management skills, including the ability to synthesize information from multiple sources.
• Exceptional interpersonal and relationship-building skills to engage effectively with diverse internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience leading and coaching teams and/or programs.
• Experience in promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism initiatives, including a commitment to ongoing self-assessment and professional development.
• Ability to teach and/or observe faculty two evenings per week and potentially one Saturday per month.

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Evidence of or potential for a deep understanding of national educator preparation initiatives and field experience initiatives for aspiring educators.
• Evidence of or potential for advancing justice, diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-oppressive initiatives in service of teacher preparation. 
• Evidence of or potential for, active involvement in national organizations in the field of education

Relay prepares teachers and school leaders to teach students of all identities and backgrounds in order to push toward a time when this country no longer faces stark educational inequities. We recruit, develop, support, and retain a diverse staff, faculty, and graduate student body because we are committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, and actively anti-racist institution. We know, and the data supports, that diversity, equity, and inclusion cultivate an environment in which people of all backgrounds can thrive and this is critical to achieving our mission of educational excellence and equity.

To fulfill that commitment, Relay encourages applicants of all backgrounds and identities to apply for roles that align with their own interests and career trajectory. If you meet a majority of the qualifications and see yourself in this role, we would love to see your application!

COMPENSATION

Relay is committed to creating and maintaining a compensation and benefits system that supports our ability to recruit and retain a diverse and talented team. As we make decisions about compensation, we will be guided by the following values: clarity, consistency, and internal equity. The salary range for this role is $115,133-$138,159. New hires will be offered a salary at the starting point of the range, $115,133 to allow for an equitable starting salary process and continual salary growth during an employee’s time at Relay GSE.

To ensure internal pay equity:

• Relay does not currently differentiate starting salary offers based on years of experience,
• All staff salaries will be capped at the salary range maximum, and
• Relay does not negotiate salary offers.

Relay offers a comprehensive total rewards package. For full-time roles, this includes health insurance benefits, disability and life insurance, retirement plan, professional development, gym reimbursement, adoption assistance, paid time off (PTO), parental leave, etc. To learn more about Relay’s benefits, please visit here.   

WORK LOCATION POLICY

Employees must have a primary work location within the U.S., where they are legally authorized to work. Relay is a registered employer in the following states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington State and Washington DC. Please note that Relay Graduate School of Education's headquarters are in New York City. Employees who choose to perform work from states not listed here will be subject to NYC state withholdings.

Relay Graduate School of Education provides equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees.