Example Job Description
Director of Student Services
A district leader who connects student welfare, attendance, belonging, and equitable access to coordinated services, trustworthy records, and measurable improvement.
Interview Planning Resource
Possible Interview Q&A: Director of Student Services
How to use this resource: Select questions that measure competencies established through the district’s current job analysis. Ask candidates the same predetermined questions under comparable conditions and evaluate responses against the same job-related criteria.
The indicators below describe evidence a strong response may contain; they are not required scripts or the only acceptable answers.
- Attendance improves after a new intervention, but enrollment and reporting practices also changed. How would you interpret the result?
Strong response indicators: Checks attendance definitions, enrolled days, mobility, coding and comparable periods; examines implementation and student experience and avoids attributing improvement to the intervention alone.
- A risk dashboard repeatedly flags the same student groups. What would you review before schools act on the alerts?
Strong response indicators: Examines source quality, thresholds, error patterns and unequal opportunity; includes student and family context, limits access, and uses alerts to offer support rather than automatic discipline or exclusion.
- How would you determine whether students referred for support actually receive useful services?
Strong response indicators: Tracks referral, contact, eligibility, consent where applicable, service start, delivery, continuity, outcomes and closure; identifies drop-off points, accountable owners and student experience.
- Two schools report very different discipline rates. How would you investigate whether this reflects practice, need, or inconsistent data?
Strong response indicators: Checks incident and consequence definitions, enrollment denominators, recording and referral practices, subgroup patterns, classroom context and student voice before comparing or recommending changes.
- How would you define the division of responsibility among Student Services, CWA, MTSS, and Special Education?
Strong response indicators: Clarifies program charters, required authorities, referral and case ownership, shared measures, decision rights and escalation; prevents duplicate case work and gaps while preserving individual team processes.
- A community agency requests a broad student data export to coordinate services. How would you respond?
Strong response indicators: Clarifies purpose and legal authority, consults designated privacy and program owners, limits data and access, uses an approved agreement and transfer method, and verifies retention and accountability.
- A family disputes an attendance or discipline record that influenced a student decision. What would you do?
Strong response indicators: Listens respectfully, preserves source records, verifies evidence and applicable procedures, coordinates authorized correction and review, communicates accessibly, and examines downstream effects.
- How would you assess the effectiveness of a school-climate initiative?
Strong response indicators: Combines survey response and representativeness, student and family experience, attendance and behavior evidence, implementation and access measures; checks nonresponse and alternative explanations.
- What would you require before replacing spreadsheets with a student case-management platform?
Strong response indicators: Maps actual workflows and users, defines common fields and ownership, checks privacy and sharing, tests integrations and accessibility, plans migration and training, and verifies service continuity and benefits.
- How would you respond when a compliance indicator looks acceptable but students describe serious access barriers?
Strong response indicators: Treats compliance as one measure, investigates experience and service evidence, includes underrepresented voices, checks definitions and exclusions, and develops actions and outcome measures beyond the indicator.
- How would you present a sensitive student-services finding to district leaders or the public?
Strong response indicators: Separates verified facts from inference, provides context and limitations, protects small groups and case details, identifies actionable barriers, and explains accountable next steps.
- What would you prioritize during your first 90 days?
Strong response indicators: Maps assigned functions and decision rights, listens to students, families and schools, reviews urgent access and compliance concerns, validates key records, and establishes a focused service-improvement and follow-through plan.
Position Description
Under the direction of the appropriate district administrator, the Director of Student Services leads assigned attendance, student welfare, enrollment, discipline, school climate, counseling coordination, and other student-support functions. The district should specify which functions belong to this role and which remain with child welfare and attendance, MTSS, special education, health, or other directors.
The position combines student and family experience with reliable attendance, enrollment, behavior, referral, and service information to identify barriers and improve support. It establishes accountable data and compliance practices, evaluates modern tools and interventions, and protects privacy and due process while preserving required individual and team decisions.
Reports To
Illustrative reporting relationship: Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, or other designated administrator. Insert the district-approved reporting relationship and assigned program boundaries.
Required Education and Credentials
Required
- Illustrative district qualification for review: master's degree in educational leadership, education, or a related field; the district should confirm its degree requirement and permitted equivalents.
- Hold a valid California Administrative Services Credential or other authorization appropriate to the actual assignment. District HR must verify current authorization and any additional credential requirements against the final duties. Require a Pupil Personnel Services Credential only when the final assignment includes services requiring that authorization.
- Complete district-required employment clearances and training in student privacy, nondiscrimination, accessibility, records, safety, and responsible use of technology.
Preferred
- Graduate coursework or sustained professional learning in applied statistics, program evaluation, improvement science, education data systems, or responsible AI for educational decision-making.
- Training in inclusive leadership, multilingual learner services, special education, family engagement, and coaching adults to use evidence effectively.
Required / Desired Experience
Required Experience
- Illustrative minimum for review: five years of successful K–12 school, counseling, pupil-services, or related experience, including progressively responsible leadership; confirm district experience thresholds and authorized assignments.
- Experience coordinating attendance improvement, student welfare, enrollment or transfers, school climate, discipline procedures, family engagement, and cross-agency support within assigned authority.
- Experience interpreting student-support data, validating records, coordinating case follow-through, evaluating interventions, and communicating sensitive findings with school and district leaders.
Desired Experience
- Experience supporting multilingual learners, students with disabilities, foster and homeless youth, and other students experiencing barriers to participation or continuity of services.
- Experience with SIS, attendance and behavior systems, referral and case-management platforms, survey tools, spreadsheets, and dashboards; relevant pupil-personnel credentials or training where assigned.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Student Access and Coordinated Support
- Lead assigned student-services programs and coordinate schools, families and agencies to address barriers to attendance, enrollment, belonging, safety and learning.
- Establish clear referral, triage, case ownership, escalation, service and follow-up processes; define boundaries with CWA, MTSS, special education, health, counseling and other program owners.
- Support equitable implementation of enrollment, transfer, attendance and discipline procedures; ensure decisions respect current requirements, documented facts, meaningful participation, and delegated authority.
Attendance, Climate and Service Analysis
- Analyze attendance patterns, enrollment mobility, school-climate surveys, discipline, referrals, service delivery and outcomes using clear definitions, appropriate denominators, and timely records.
- Disaggregate findings appropriately to identify unequal access or outcomes; examine school practices, data quality, missing voices, scheduling, transportation and other contextual barriers before drawing conclusions.
- Evaluate outreach, attendance and support interventions for actual participation, service delivery, student experience and sustained outcomes; document limitations and adjust ineffective approaches.
Records, Compliance and Responsible Systems
- Define record ownership and reconciliations across SIS, attendance, behavior, case-management and reporting systems; coordinate corrections, audit trails, reporting calendars, and retention with responsible offices.
- Monitor assigned legal and policy obligations concerning student rights, nondiscrimination, attendance, enrollment, records, complaints and due process; consult authorized specialists when requirements or jurisdiction are unclear.
- Review student-support and predictive-risk tools through district privacy, security, accessibility and procurement processes; use alerts for supportive human review and prohibit unapproved sharing or automated consequential decisions.
Leadership, Partnerships and Improvement
- Supervise assigned staff, budgets, contracts, training and partnerships; connect resources to documented needs, service capacity, measurable outcomes, and sustainable operations.
- Build staff skill in practical analysis, survey interpretation, secure case documentation, and accessible communication using approved products and shared definitions.
- Report progress, disparities, limitations, compliance risks, unresolved cases and corrective actions to authorized audiences; protect small groups, follow through on decisions, and perform related duties within classification.
Required Skills and Abilities
Knowledge of
- Student development, attendance improvement, family engagement, enrollment and transfers, school climate, counseling coordination, restorative and supportive practices, and cross-agency service delivery.
- Assigned California and federal requirements concerning education records, student rights, nondiscrimination, attendance, discipline, foster and homeless youth, accessibility and complaint processes.
- Attendance and behavior measures, cohort and mobility effects, referral and service funnels, survey nonresponse, subgroup analysis, evaluation limitations, and small-cell disclosure risks.
- SIS, attendance, behavior, referral and case-management products; approved spreadsheet and dashboard tools; access controls, data sharing, interoperability, and responsible predictive analytics and AI.
Ability to
- Connect respectful student and family relationships with systematic identification of barriers and accountable service follow-through.
- Define and verify attendance, discipline, referral and service measures, including missing records, changing enrollment and differences in school practices.
- Lead equitable intervention planning and evaluate implementation and outcomes without relying on labels, automated risk scores, or unsupported causal claims.
- Coordinate schools, district programs and external agencies through clear purposes, lawful sharing, ownership and escalation procedures.
- Communicate sensitive findings accessibly, protect confidentiality, preserve procedural rights, and seek authorized legal or policy interpretation when needed.
- Manage personnel, resources, systems and improvement routines while keeping the scope distinct from CWA, MTSS and special education leadership.
Work Environment
- Work is performed in district offices, classrooms, school grounds, meeting rooms, and other professional settings, with remote participation as authorized.
- The position involves computer use, school visits, observation, facilitation, and detailed review of records, dashboards, assessments, reports, and communications.
- Work requires frequent coordination with students, families, school leaders, attendance and counseling staff, program directors, data and technology teams, community agencies, and authorized legal or compliance staff.
- The employee encounters interruptions, competing priorities, sensitive student and personnel matters, and urgent concerns requiring calm, documented judgment.
- Workload may increase during school opening, enrollment and transfer periods, attendance and accountability reviews, public meetings, and urgent student welfare or discipline matters.
Other Requirements
- Successfully complete required criminal-record, fingerprint, and employment clearances.
- Complete a tuberculosis risk assessment and any examination required by applicable law or district policy.
- Maintain required credentials and complete district-assigned training in privacy, cybersecurity, accessibility, nondiscrimination, mandated reporting, and workplace safety.
- Protect confidential student and employee records; follow approved access, sharing, retention, incident-reporting, and records-request procedures.
- Travel between district offices, schools, professional-learning locations, and community meetings as assigned.
- Possess a valid California driver's license and maintain insurability when driving is an essential function; confirm the district's actual travel requirements.
- Occasionally work evenings, weekends, or extended hours for school events, public meetings, reporting deadlines, or urgent student and operational matters.
- Perform office and school-based activities involving sitting, standing, walking, communication, and computer use; confirm any role-specific lifting or other physical requirements through local job analysis.
- Perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.