Teachers association praises extra $1 million for schools; parent urges caps on dyslexia remediation group size

Julia Dorman, president of the North Andover Teachers Association, addressed the committee during public comment to acknowledge work between the association and the superintendent that helped secure roughly $1 million in additional funding for the coming school year. Dorman thanked the superintendent and the committee while reiterating the union’s interest in fully funded schools and noting continued willingness to collaborate — including on a possible override if needed.

Later in public comment, parent Jessica O’Donnell described her son Finn’s experience with dyslexia interventions at Sergeant School and requested the district add licensed special-education reading staff at Sergeant beyond the positions associated with incoming Kittredge students. She asked the committee to place a maximum group size of four students in her son’s Individualized Education Program (IEP), citing the Wilson Reading System guidance that recommends keeping remediation groups at four or fewer students to maintain program fidelity.

O’Donnell said district staff told her that adding a maximum might prevent a student from advancing if groups were full, a practice she described as “staffing-centered” rather than student-centered. She asked the committee to allocate additional licensed special-education staff so that reading interventions can be delivered as intended. The parent requested the administration provide data showing current reading-group staffing and sizes.

Committee members acknowledged the comments, thanked the teachers’ association and the parent, and said the administration would continue working with union representatives and families on staffing and implementation questions. The parent’s requests were received as public comment; no immediate formal action or vote on IEP policy was taken at the meeting.