Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Special Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bridgewater-Raynham special education director outlines staffing and service changes; district reports about 1,200 students on IEPs
Summary
Angela D'Angelo, the district director of student services, told the school committee the district serves about 1,200 students on individualized education programs and is reorganizing oversight and roles to improve consistency and staff capacity.
Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School Committee members on Sept. 24 heard a special education update outlining staffing changes, program priorities and service counts for the start of the school year.
"Right now there are about 1,200 students receiving services through IEP plans in the district, about 400 students receiving accommodations through 504 plans, and about 50 students who receive their educational programming outside the district," said Angela D'Angelo, director of student services, during the committee's educational report.
D'Angelo described early priorities that include creating consistent processes across buildings, reducing reliance on contracted vendors by hiring staff with previously contracted skill sets, and reorganizing district oversight with three administrators to promote continuity. The department is piloting a model that pairs administrative oversight across building clusters to improve transitions between levels, and is monitoring renewals and usage of digital instructional subscriptions to reduce duplication.
To address workload concerns for school psychologists, the district has posted a new "team chair" role to handle meeting facilitation and paperwork currently assigned to psychologists. D'Angelo said the district is combining some assessment duties across paired schools so psychologists can focus on testing while team chairs manage procedural tasks. She also said the district is interviewing candidates for school psychologist positions and for the new team chair role.
D'Angelo described a move away from CPI training toward SafetyCare for de-escalation, citing staff requests and a potential financial benefit in longer term renewals for SafetyCare. She said the district will also work with a new IEP specialist, Alan Bloom, to improve IEP practices and consistency districtwide. The department plans to pursue proactive behavioral and mental health approaches with counselors and community partners including Pride of Minds and the Ready Center.
Committee members praised the early work. Vice Chair Richard Loach and other members asked whether the district's special-education population proportion was above the state average; D'Angelo said state reporting excludes 504 plans and that most districts report special-education shares near 16—8% while the district's IEP share is closer to 20%.
There were no formal decisions or votes attached to the presentation; committee members asked for continued updates as hiring progresses and as new roles are filled.
