SAUGUS — Despite staffing challenges, school district officials say the special education programs in the town’s public schools are “going very well” as they prepare for the population of students eligible for those programs to rise in the coming years.

Executive Director of Pupil Personnel Services Dawn Trainor gave a detailed presentation to the School Committee during its regular meeting Thursday, explaining that Saugus remains below state levels in special education eligibility at about 17.5% of students, compared to 19% statewide. But, she said, the town has seen an uptick in eligible students amongst its youngest populations, those in Kindergarten and first grade at the Veterans Early Learning Center, a number she anticipated only going up.

“Coming out of COVID, we’re seeing a lot more students with a lot of need now,” she said, adding that students are coming into the VELC with “legitimate” referrals.

Trainor also updated the committee on how the district has been preparing to implement the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s new Individualized Education Program forms as part of the department’s IEP improvement project. IEPs are designed to aid students with disabilities with their education.

The new IEPs are much more consolidated and contain more information about a child’s educational needs, Trainor said.

“It’s a very good focus for parents as well as students to become drivers of what’s happening in their child’s education,” she told the committee.

With the district expected to transition to the new process this fall for the 2024 – 25 school year, Trainor said Saugus has held 15 staff professional development sessions over the course of the last two school years for all staff members who want to participate. As a result, the district is “ahead of the curve” in preparedness, according to Trainor.

“I’m really proud of that fact, for our staff,” she said.

Trainor also told the committee that Saugus was set to begin offering an alternative education plan at the Middle/High School in partnership with the Shore Collaborative to help students who “don’t really want a typical school day.”

The proposal has been vetted by DESE and is set to launch later this month or early next month, Trainor said, adding that the district hopes it will now have to send fewer students out of the district.

“This is going to be a really important pathway for students because it’s going to help them to reach their goals and reach their potential,” Trainor said.

Trainor also touted the performance of Saugus’ disabled students on the MCAS exams, telling the committee that in grade 10 math scores, 28% of Saugus students were deemed proficient, meaning they met or exceeded expectations.

That figure places the district second in the state, behind only Melrose at 29%, she said. The next closest district was Wakefield at 14%, with others trailing well behind in single digits.

Committee members seemed blown away by the report from Trainor.
For her part, Trainor credited numerous efforts across the district for the result.

“It starts with the planning and the leadership level, high-quality instructional materials that we work together to get, we make sure that the IEP meetings are happening and the parents are communicated with … working with general educators and getting that content-rich instruction,” she said. “This is the move that we’ve been working to make.”

“I’m really proud of all of the work that’s been happening. It starts at the top, and it keeps working down. And when you see that working, those are the results you get. It’s little steps, but it does work,” Trainor added.

But, Trainor also acknowledged some of the challenges the district was facing in the special education space, particularly regarding staffing.

“We’re being transparent with parents, and it’s causing a little bit of an uproar,” she said.

But, Saugus is far from the only district to struggle in that area, she said, with speech and language staff the most difficult to recruit. Trainor said she was able to “see the writing on the wall” over the summer, working on drafting an interrupted services letter detailing how the lack of service would impact specific students and sending the individualized letter to families.

And help may be on the way, as Trainor said she “finally found” two people to come in.

“I do think that families are going to see some relief the second half of the year,” she said.

With Superintendent of Schools Michael Hashem set to present his fiscal year 2025 budget to the committee this week, Trainor said more attention will be given to student services.

“We’re not teaching the same students anymore, we all know it; we need to say that out loud and be okay with it, but know that we need help,” she said. “We’re here to make sure that we work over time to build back up what we need in order to make sure kids are getting what they need and teachers.”

While Saugus has the recommended number of paraprofessionals for the number of disabled students in the district, it is woefully behind state-recommended staffing levels for teachers, Trainor said. For every 100 disabled students, the state recommends having five teachers. Saugus has just one for every 100.

“It’s going to be a slow build back,” she said. “But it’s a conscious build-back.”

Despite the challenges, Trainor said she feels lucky.

“I do want to count our blessings,” she said. “I think we provide a very good product for our families and kids. I just think we can do it better, too.”