The Special Education Office (Patrice and Dr. Jarvis) has moved to the Page School.
Please use the Page School telephone number (978 363-2671, extensions 10 or 11) until further notice to reach them.

For the past ten years, the Pentucket School district has been including students with educational disabilities in the general education classroom to insure the student has increased access to the rich general education curriculum. The goal of the district is to include students with significant disabilities in their neighborhood Pentucket Public School. Youngsters formerly assigned to out-of-district day and residential placements now have the opportunity to attend their neighborhood schools and are included in general education classes and programs, with the proper support.

When a student with an educational disability is experiencing extreme difficulty in the community and/or at home as well as at school, the Pentucket Regional School District works cooperatively with other community agencies toward the achievement of an appropriate placement for that student. The district documents that every placement is the least restrictive environment for the student in question.

Any parent can refer a student for eligibility determination at any time. When this occurs, the Teacher Assistance/Teacher Support Team and the Special Education Evaluation Team move forward simultaneously in their respective duties. In this way the student has the benefit of receiving modifications and supports as recommended by the Teacher Assistance/Teacher Support Team while awaiting the 45 day evaluation time period used by the Special Education Team. Modifications recommended by the Teacher Assistance/Teacher Support Team may include, but are not limited to modification of the curriculum, of teaching strategies, of teaching environments, of materials and of the use of support services, and/or consultative services. The prereferral process may be as short as four weeks or as long as six weeks. All students, except preschool students, who are referred for eligibility determination, must undergo the prereferral process.

The Pentucket Regional School District has preschool programs, kindergarten, and grade 1 - 6 programming in its school district's four elementary schools providing access to neighborhood general education programming. Each of our four elementary schools have full access to a broad range of special education and related services including speech pathology services, occupational therapy services, and physical therapy services. Special Educators and general educators are co-teaching, co-planning, and co-assessing in each of our elementary schools in order to facilitate inclusionary education experiences. Flexible grouping is used on an as needed basis in order to facilitate students with educational disabilities skills in the general education classroom and in "pull-out" areas.

The Pentucket Middle School for grades 7 - 8 and Pentucket High School provide full access to the general education curriculum with a full range of special education services and related services.

A student with special needs has a right to be educated in the least restrictive environment in order to access the general education curriculum. This means that, to the maximum extent appropriate, a student with special needs must be educated with children who do not have special needs. Special education services must be provided in the regular classroom environment when appropriate to the special needs child. Special classes, separate schooling or removal of a child from the regular education environment shall occur only when the nature or severity of the special needs are such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services can not be satisfactorily achieved.

The parent, the general educator, the special educator, the building administrator, and other key individuals are active participants in all placement decisions. The adult student is also a member of the placement team.

The Pentucket School District, when appropriate, place students who are experiencing difficulty in both educational day and residential placement settings. The Pentucket School District works cooperatively with the district court to insure that students who are court ordered to residential placements are afforded appropriate special education services.

If outside placement is determined through the Team meeting process, we are a member of the CREST Collaborative.

The Pentucket Regional School District educates students identified as having a disability in the general education classroom. According to the state laws, children with disabilities have the right to learn in the least restrictive environment. Inclusion is a familiar term used throughout Massachusetts. It is based upon the idea that outside the school setting, people must interact with others. They must learn to work with and accept people who are not like themselves. Just as adults must learn to interact with one another, children must also begin to accept diverse environments. An inclusion classroom is committed to treating all children equally. Rather than moving the child with disabilities from his or her familiar learning environment for services, the support would be serviced in the classroom. The classroom teacher, the professionals involved in the child's services, and the parents, would all be involved in creating a pleasant atmosphere to best meet the needs of the child.