By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The School Committee unanimously approved Lynnfield High School’s Program of Studies for the 2025-2026 academic year during a recent meeting.
Principal Tricia Puglisi said the high school removed third level courses for special education students this year, and students have been enrolled in new co-taught college prep (CP) classes.
“It is already in place,” said Puglisi. “My purpose for having it included was really just to make sure our Program of Studies was accurately representing our program.”
Interim Student Services Director Lydia Rundell-Gjerde said school officials and educators want to “provide the least restrictive environment for students.”
“That really does mean our students who are on IEPs (individualized education programs) are to the degree are able to be included in general education classes,” said Rundell-Gjerde. “This decision was made by both general education teachers and special education teachers. Making the adjustment to the structure will allow students to have a better experience and will raise the standards and engagement of all of our students. I think it is important for all of us to keep in mind that we want to provide the most opportunities for all of our students over the course of time. We want to them to work towards their independence and to have the same or similar academic experience as their peers in preparation for post-secondary success.”
Puglisi said there are now three types of college prep sections at LHS.
“There is a co-taught section, which is taught by a regular education teacher and a special education teacher,” said Puglisi. “They have a paraprofessional in the room as well. There are supported sections as well, which have a teacher and a paraprofessional or another special education teacher in the room. There are also non-supported classes, which is a college prep class with just one teacher in it. We do cap the number of students in the courses to make sure all of their needs are fulfilled. We are also focusing on their transition to high school and keeping those class sizes smaller. And, ultimately, in terms of where students are placed in any of those three types of sections is the student’s IEP. That is what drives placement and support. We make sure that all students are given the support required as written in their IEP or as they present in the classroom.”
Puglisi said the high school began discussing switching from the third level courses to the co-taught model before the 2023-2024 academic year.
“We really came together during the last school year, and we made the decision to switch to more of a co-taught model and eliminate that third level course,” said Puglisi. “To achieve that, we made sure the teachers were prepared for the students. Summer work was given to all of the teachers involved in co-teaching. We have provided ongoing professional development this year through collaborative.org. We have had an expert come in and work with the team. She will be coming back again, so it will be three times she has been in the building working with our teams.”
Puglisi said the high school has implemented student data teams to monitor students’ academic progress and is using “targeted interventions.”
“Each of the teaching teams have common planning time as part of their schedule,” said Puglisi.
LHS English Department Head Maryellen Iannibelli said the new co-taught CP classes have received “very positive feedback from students, families and teachers in the classroom and the Special Education Department.”
“We are seeing students who are becoming more independent with their learning, more so than in previous years,” said Iannibelli. “When we looked at the research in school and what was happening with the students, the students were becoming more dependent on the adults in the classroom, and that is not the goal for any student within the high school setting. We are looking for college and career placement for them as a final outcome.”
Iannibelli said the new co-taught classes have “raised expectations for all students in the classroom” by differentiating instruction. She said CP students in the three different sections recently finished reading “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding.
“The teachers, working with the special educators, have modified some of the text to meet students’ IEP needs whether they are in a supported or a co-taught class,” said Iannibelli. “We are differentiating instruction.”
Iannibelli said the general education teachers and special education teachers working in the co-taught classes received professional development last summer and fall, and said the trainer will be coming back to LHS this spring.
“In that training period, both the special education teacher and the regular education teacher are planning the lessons accordingly,” said Iannibelli.
Iannibelli said the high school is using Renaissance Star exams in order to monitor students’ academic progress.
“We have been having students take trimester assessments with reading comprehension,” said Iannibelli. “We have been having data meetings, which is something that is newer to a high school model. It is very rare being able to do that. We have been successful with it. We have been having the special educator and the regular educator go through the data and identify students who are more at-risk or might not be making the progress we feel that they should be making with their reading comprehension and their writing. And then, right there at the meeting, we are putting a plan in place for the students. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a student on an IEP. We might be seeing students not on an IEP who are struggling more.”
Iannibelli said general education teachers, special education teachers, paraprofessionals, department heads and families can access Google Classroom in order to monitor students’ academic progress.
LHS Math Department Head Karen Ellis said the former third level math classes were using a different curriculum and textbook than the other classes.
“That is no longer the case,” said Ellis. “We are now using the same curriculum, but with more interventions for students. It is tailored to individual students based on what their needs require. Our assessments are still common assessments, but some of the students in the co-taught class may have more scaffolding questions. They are getting the same content, the same delivery and the same curriculum, which had not always historically been true.”
In response to a question from School Committee Vice Chair Jenny Sheehan, Ellis said the Math Medic curriculum that was adopted this year is “much more accessible than prior curriculums we have used.” She said common assessments from the three different CP sections revealed that students “are pretty much right on target with each other.”
“We are not seeing that one class is performing significantly lower than any other class,” said Ellis. “If that were not the case, we would do some different interventions.”
School Committee member Kate DePrizio said the special education models for the elementary schools and Lynnfield Middle School are different than LHS. She asked how parents can find out about the transition before their children get to high school.
Rundell-Gjerde said the middle school’s special educators discuss the high school’s course offerings during IEP meetings with eighth-graders’ families.
“We have a lot of conversations about what high school is like, what are the classes like and what are the expectations,” said Rundell-Gjerde. “Towards the end of the school year, we do schedule transition meetings for our students. They are mostly for meet-and-greets for them to meet the high school people. It’s not an extensive meeting. For some students, we might have an extensive meeting if their needs are more extensive.”
School Committee member Jamie Hayman said he “loves the model of the inclusive classrooms.” He asked, “What happens if it doesn’t work” and is “not the right fit for a kid.”
“The IEP drives that,” said Rundell-Gjerde. “If there is a student whose needs require a different setting, that is a decision for the IEP team to make with the parents about what is appropriate for that student.”