Matt Cosman’s Responses to Supplemental Questions

Question 1
I mentioned this during the forum but I believe we need to implement a policy around quarterly reviews of our Special Education program. This will allow for better data and dialogue that hopefully improves programming and collaboration between the parents, the teachers and the district in order to allow all Special Education students to perform at the optimal level.

Question 2
It is really disappointing that we are not only short on paraeducators but that we haven’t recognized the importance of these roles and ensured we are compensating them appropriately. I think we need to be clear as a school committee about how important paraeducators are for the students in our district and then act accordingly during next year’s discussions on salaries.

Question 3
Based on conversations I have had with a variety of constituents I think this is something that we need to look very closely at. I would like to see us come up with a range of options that would include developing our own vocational-technical programming and / or leveraging better exposure to other options close-by. From there we should determine the best option and move forward with plans to ensure access to this programming for Hingham students.