22-23 Special Education Leadership Fellowship: Jared Bissen

Over the next few months, we will be highlighting the special education leaders who participated in our 22-23 Special Education Leadership Fellowship. The fellowship was paid for by Federal CSP funds and offered an intensive leadership development opportunity specific to special education. Some of the activities included monthly PD, development of a strategic plan, school site visits and reviews, individual coaching, and participation in a community of practice. The yearlong fellowship was facilitated by SELF NOLA in partnership with Bluum.

In addition, each leader will be asked to share a “favorite resource.”

Meet Jared Bissen

Special Education Director | Gem Prep Network of Schools 

Tell us about your school, your role, and why you chose to participate in the SELF Leadership Program:
I am the Director of Special Education for Gem Prep Schools. I chose to participate in the SELF Leadership Program to continue to improve my knowledge to help continue our growth in supporting scholars with IEPs and ensuring they get the education they are entitled to. I was also looking forward to getting some new insights from people outside our organization to help us not only highlight strong practices but also highlight areas of growth.

Biggest Take Away from the Leadership Cohort:
Over the past year, the strategic planning document we created at the beginning of the year was very helpful. Not only did we create goals for the year but at the same time we backwards planned from the end goal and created benchmarks to hit along the way to ensure we met the EOY goals. My coach was supportive and helpful and during our sessions would check up on how things were going and ask for evidence to track progress. This really help me keep an eye on the goals I had set out and I am going to continue using that strategic planning framework moving forward.

Fun Fact:
Search and Rescue (SAR) has been called twice on me for running and hiking adventures.

Favorite Resource: Jared’s IEP Observation Checklist for coaching special education teachers on meeting protocols.

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