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Director of special education skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Amanda Banks Ph.D.,

Marie Leahy

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical director of special education skills. We ranked the top skills for directors of special education based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 13.4% of director of special education resumes contained professional development as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a director of special education needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 director of special education skills for your resume and career

1. Professional Development

Professional development means to have the essential training certification or education with the purpose of earning and having a successful career. Every job requires a different set of skills. However, new skills may be needed in the future. Professional development, in this regard, helps people to develop and polish the skills and become efficient workers.

Here's how directors of special education use professional development:

Created agendas and professional development for teachers and provided important information regarding laws, regulations, and services.
Collaborated with administrators to identify and provide professional development opportunities to support implementation of the accelerated improvement plan.

2. Autism

Here's how directors of special education use autism:

Coordinated testing activities and drafted IEP plans for students with High Functioning Autism and Attention Deficit Disorder.
Initiated and provided various trainings and supports for families of children with autism and other disabilities.

3. Education Programs

Education program refers to a program written by the institution or ministry of education meant to determine each subject's learning progress in formal education stages.

Here's how directors of special education use education programs:

Formulated an average estimated special education fund budget of $760,430 and prepared proposals Transportation and Special Education Programs.
Identified & cultivated relationships to determine needs for new education programs and career placement.

4. Behavior Management

Here's how directors of special education use behavior management:

Acted as crisis interventionist and provided teachers with behavior management strategies as well as teaching techniques.
Developed behavior management system and discipline policies, grades 7/8.

5. K-12

K12 is a term that incldues all 12 years of education in the US education system. It includes the education offered at the primary stage, middle stage, and secondary stage. It includes children of ages as young as 5 to 18 years. The grades included in K12 are Kindergarten, the initial 5 stages, grades 6 to 8, and 9 to 12. This system is followed specifically followed in the US and may vary in other countries.

Here's how directors of special education use k-12:

Represented the district as K-12 instructor as for students who are intellectual disabled.
Created K-12 special education program, providing full continuum of services.

6. IEPs

Here's how directors of special education use ieps:

Attended all related meetings (IEPS and METS).
Worked with administration to identify and include students with IEPs into general education classroom settings.

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7. Curriculum Development

Here's how directors of special education use curriculum development:

Maintained High School curriculum development and instruction for students with disabilities
Collaborated with the IEP Team on scheduling and curriculum development.

8. Public Schools

Public schools are available for everyone. They are funded and controlled by the government. With state guidance, each school board determines the curricula, finances, and jobs for schools within its borders. The government also decides on academic standards and standardised tests.

Here's how directors of special education use public schools:

CAREER NOTE: Professional history also includes Direct of Special Education with Roseville Public Schools and Riverview Public Schools.
Owned and operated a private kindergarten before they were in public schools, classes were full and waiting lists for enrollment.

9. Instructional Strategies

Here's how directors of special education use instructional strategies:

Assist special education teachers in instructional planning, classroom management procedures, and improving instructional strategies.
Monitored the implementation of instructional strategies to ensure it referenced research-based best practices.

10. Due Process

Here's how directors of special education use due process:

Oversee all parent complaints, due process complaints and advocate involved cases.
Oversee Due Process hearings, mediations, and all legal and compliance issues related to special education and Section 504.

11. Staff Development

Here's how directors of special education use staff development:

Develop positive working relationships with component districts and agencies to appropriately coordinate and implement student support services and staff development.
Stay up-to-date professionally through the selection of quality staff development opportunities for personal growth.

12. Student Achievement

Here's how directors of special education use student achievement:

Obtain and use evaluative findings (including student achievement data) to gauge overall program effectiveness.
Related Services, Mental Health and Transition Services) Audit files and regularly review student achievement data.

13. CSE

Here's how directors of special education use cse:

Attended all Committee on Special Education (CSE) meetings as the school's representative.
Chaired all out of district CSE meetings; Supervised all out of district programs.

14. School Administration

Here's how directors of special education use school administration:

Advised school administration on legal and instructional matters related to the placement and educational programming of the students.
Work closely with the school administrationproviding quantifiable briefings and presentations on evidence and research-basedpractices.

15. Data Analysis

Here's how directors of special education use data analysis:

Managed all departments of the center including data analysis, financial operations and employee relations.

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What skills help Directors Of Special Education find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What type of skills will young Directors of special education need?

Amanda Banks Ph.D.

Professor, Bluefield State College

Working knowledge of traditional and innovative instructional technology is essential for those entering teaching. Graduates should be familiar with a wide range of technology-based tools for effectively planning and delivering of instruction in a variety of formats, from in-class to synchronous and asynchronous learning. Fortunately, a number of preservice teachers consistently use or are at least exposed to a myriad of technology as students in higher ed. Familiarity with LMS platforms, audio/video recording and presentation apps, school-to-home communication modalities, and assistive technology are absolutely essential for every graduate planning to enter the classroom.
Additionally, developing innovate approaches to engaging and maintaining student interest and teaching the unwritten curriculum (e.g., basic citizenship skills, personal organization, punctuality, work quality, and honesty) are critical. Brief or protracted periods of virtual teaching can make this especially challenging. Another essential skillset is fostering student-parent-school partnerships. Research indicates parent involvement significantly impacts academic success for all students. For students with exceptional learning needs, parent involvement is the single most powerful predictor of their academic performance. New teachers should make it a top priority to build rapport with their students, and become familiar with their personalities and life circumstances as well as their learning strengths and needs.

What technical skills for a director of special education stand out to employers?

Marie Leahy

Associate Professor, Chestnut Hill College

The suddenness of the onset of the pandemic made all employers realize that it is absolutely critical for their workers to be able to mobilize quickly and adapt to an entirely new situation with relative ease. Recent graduates in the field of education will need to be able to use Microsoft Office and be able to use interactive whiteboards and maintain a classroom website. In addition, they will need to be able to utilize learning management systems, live streaming, and document cameras/visual presenters. Each school/district has its own learning management system, but if someone is experienced in using a learning management system, then getting accustomed to a different one is pretty seamless. The same is true for live streaming services and document cameras/visual presenters.

What soft skills should all Directors of special education possess?

Colleen Wilkinson

Associate Professor, Program Director, Medaille College

Teaching is not a silo profession. We are in constant communication and collaboration with many stakeholders. Teacher Candidates need to be flexible in order to work well with all the different players in the game to make sure the student wins!

Do you want to know more?

List of director of special education skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a director of special education resume and required skills for a director of special education to have include:

Professional Development
Autism
Education Programs
Behavior Management
K-12
IEPs
Curriculum Development
Public Schools
Instructional Strategies
Due Process
Staff Development
Student Achievement
CSE
School Administration
Data Analysis
Federal Regulations

State Laws
Program Development
Child Find
State Regulations
Applied Behavior Analysis
Community Agencies
Technical Assistance
RTI
Legal Issues
Student Data
Classroom Management
Instructional Materials
Federal Guidelines
Pre-K
ELL
Medicaid

LEA
Mathematics
ARD
PBIS
Early Intervention
Classroom Observations
Selpa
Disabilities Education ACT
Data Collection
ESL
Elementary Schools
Progress Monitoring
FBA
State Compliance

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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Updated January 8, 2025

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