Wachusett special education director reports staffing, service‑alignment gains and DESE reclassification to 'meets requirements'

Director DeAngelis, director of special education for the Wachusett Regional School District, told the committee that the district has made measurable progress in special education services over the last two years, including staff increases, caseload realignment and programmatic changes.

"We increased professional staffing through attrition. There were about 17 professional positions that were added to our special ed program to better serve our students," Director DeAngelis said, describing district efforts to align providers to school locations, even out caseloads and schedule team meeting days so staff can consult without losing instructional time.

The director said the district has about 1,100 students on individualized education programs across 13 schools and credited a technology‑driven service‑delivery report with helping identify service needs by building. She described new team‑chair roles in each school, co‑teaching expansion, program renaming…