Damien Phillips Email and Phone Number

As Principal I oversee the daily operations of Shelly Baird School. Shelly Baird is the Kings County Special Education School for students with moderate/severe disabilities. I participate in IEP conferences and planning, attend meetings and conferences as needed; Select, supervise, train, direct, assign and evaluate staff members. I train each new staff member and all regular staff members in de-escalation and ways to keep students safe during crisis using Pro-ACT. I establish and maintain effective communications with staff, co-workers, other school district personnel, and with the public. It is my job to stay current with legislative and policy changes applicable to special education and related programs, and monitor the compliance of the school and every staff member under my direction.

As an assistant principal my duty was to serve in the overall administration ofthe school, serving as Principal in the absence of the regular Principal, and am the direct supervisor for the Behavior Zone Academy which is the program for students identified as emotionally disturbed. My duties include:Supervise assigned special education classes, staff and related programs;Assist in the recruitment, selection, and training of new staff, supervision and evaluation of staff, as assigned;Participate in IEP conferences and planning, attend meetings and conferences, as needed;and to stay current with legislative and policy changes related to the assigned special education classes and related programs;As the learning director for Kings Community School and J.C. Montgomery (school for incarcerated youth) my job is to assist the program manager and assistant superintendent with the implementation of the mission and vision of the schools.

As a special education teacher working with students identified as emotionally disturbed, intellectually disabled, or on the Autistic spectrum my primary duty is to educate my students in a safe an effective environment. My job is to work closely with students, parents, teachers,administrators, support staff and other agencies to provide services to my students. I act as a child advocate in collaboration with educational staff to assist in the coordination of dueprocess and procedural safeguards for pupils and parents related to the area of exceptional needsindividuals; assist in the assessment of referred students; participate as a member or lead IEP teams to design individual educational programs for special education students, provide direct instruction in the area of service expertise, evaluate the progress of program participants, and conduct on-going reviews of the IEP’s;