Special Education Supervisor Interview: Deborah Budd

By Sarah-Beth Alexander
Deborah Budd works as the Special Education Supervisor at Benton Harbor Area
Schools. She had been there for 5 years. She primarily works with grades 5-8. There
are 2 other supervisors that work for the district and work with the other grades. They
do not have a director.
1.

2.

What are the main functions of your job?

Representative at Sedac
Cims Coordinator for the district
Serves on a Reinvention of Special Education Committee
IEP coordinator grades 5-8
Advocate for students and parents
Compliance
Oversee cross-categorical classrooms
What do you believe is the purpose of your role in the district?

Deborah made me chuckle with her response to this question. She jokingly said
her responded her role is to save the district from lawsuits. Legal compliance is a major
role in her district. She also provides the best programming she can for students.
3.

What do you like to do best in your job?

Deborah loves meeting the students and parents. This is the most enjoyable for

her.
4.

What is the thing you like the least about your job?

State monitoring and working with people who refuse to follow the rules of
special education.
5.
What programs and services do you have for students with special needs in your
district?
In Benton Harbor Area Schools, they have many self-contained classrooms.
They have CI, EI, ECDD, and Resource Rooms in the district. The have one AI country
wide classroom in the district. They are often short on staff to fill these positions and
must rely on substitutes.

6.
If you could provide different programming in your district, what would you like to
provide, or what would you like to see for kids?
Deborah would not change the programming of special education students. She
would change the process of identification. She would like a more successful MultiTiered System of Support implemented in her district.
7.
What is your role in the supervision/evaluation of special education staff in the
district?
Deborah completes monthly observations and walk-throughs on all her staff.
She then shares that information with the principals who complete the evaluations.
8.

How do you work with other administrators in the district?

She works well with the superintendent and the principals in her district. They
work together as a team. They rely on her for legal advice. They also attend MDRs.
9.
How do you go about solving problems? What is your problem solving process?
Whenever there is a problem, she waits 24 hours to react. When she reacts
immediately, she doesnt feel she is at her best. She likes to take 24 hours to think.
She asks questions and seeks advice from others. She tries to not take things
personally. After that she is ready to solve and address the issue.
10. What would you say your leadership style is?
Deborah considers herself to be a transformational leader. She tries to work
collaboratively with others to create second order change.

Reflection
Currently I have worked as a Special Education Director for the last 2 years.
Unfortunately, I did not feel like I learned many new things since I am in a similar
position. The biggest surprise I had was that Deborah did not complete the evaluations
for her special education staff. I feel that a personal evaluating a special education
teacher should have experience in special education; often principals do not. They may
have one class in college, but little experience.
Deborahs leadership style that is one that is calm and collected. I hope to be
more like her. I hope that I can take her approach as far as problem solving, as well. I
like the idea of taking 24 hours to respond, this way I am calm and collected. She is so
positive and encouraging. While my current job situation is rough, I really would like to
take on a more positive approach. Sometimes, I get bogged down by the day to day
activities. I hope that I can be more encouraging to my staff. The one take-away I had
was creating a better Multi-Tiered System of Supports. So often this is a general
education issue, but I would like to help so that a better system is in place.