Director Curtis Whipple presents entry plan, highlights special-education gains and district priorities

Dr. Curtis Whipple, director of pupil personnel services for Rockland Public Schools, presented an entry plan to the school committee on Jan. 12 outlining district strengths, data sources and next steps for special education and systemwide alignment. "I started on October 20. That was my very first day," Whipple said as he described the phased review that led to the plan.

Whipple said the entry plan draws on two staff surveys (more than 60 respondents), more than 60 one-on-one meetings and focus groups, CPAC consultations and public data from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. He said the surveys skewed toward special-education staff and that the plan reflects both qualitative interviews and quantitative measures.

Among the metrics Whipple highlighted: he reported that 100% of Rockland’s English language learners, multilingual learners and students with disabilities had completed the state-recommended "MassCore" sequence; the district’s graduation rate for students with disabilities exceeded the statewide average by 10.3 percentage points; and Rockland’s overall dropout rate was 8.3 percentage points lower than the state average. "That is something to be so proud of," Whipple said.

Whipple distilled the findings into three priorities: consistency, capacity and collaboration. Under "consistency" he recommended standardizing IEP language and dropdown terminology in Aspen so entries mean the same thing at each grade level and clarifying entrance and exit criteria for substantially separate programs. "A simple low-hanging fruit is for us to sit down and streamline what some of those choices are," he said.

On "capacity," Whipple said the district faces staffing challenges, including a critical vacancy for a school psychologist; he said the district has used an outside contractor while continuing searches for a permanent hire. On classroom supports he flagged the need to bolster Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions in general-education settings and to provide differentiated professional development for related-service staff and multilingual-learner strategies.

The presentation included an action plan that Whipple said is organized into five phases: data collection, analysis, goal setting, implementation and review. He said the full written report and an action-plan Gantt chart are available in Superintendent Dr. Kron’s office and that each action item in the report indicates status (C = completed, P = in progress).

During committee comment and Q&A, members praised Whipple’s approach and prior work by Dr. Maniglia. A committee member asked whether parents of students with IEPs outside the CPAC group had been surveyed; Whipple said they had not been individually surveyed and noted that a DESE audit is collecting parent-survey information that will be incorporated into the plan.

Whipple said the district will prioritize "low-hanging fruit" items with earlier start dates while using backward planning to sequence longer-term initiatives. He pledged transparency and regular updates through Superintendent Kron.

Next steps: the committee has the written report in the superintendent’s office; Whipple said he will provide ongoing updates to the committee as action items move from planning into progress and completion.