Danvers outlines multi-year plan to expand in-district special-education programs to avoid costly out-of-district placements

Christina Ryan, director of student services, told the committee that the district is pursuing multi-year staffing to grow four specialized program strands and to reduce reliance on costly out-of-district placements.

Ryan said the district has structured programs called Embark, RISE, SOAR and STRIDE and aims to consolidate cohorts so students can remain in-district. She outlined staffing priorities: hire a full-time elementary BCBA (already done for year one), add an elementary SLP and a half-time nurse for year two, and add a transition specialist at the high school by year three.

To illustrate the financial case for in-district capacity, Ryan presented per-student cost ranges for sending a student to an out-of-district placement: "For our Embark students, ... we're looking at spending $198,852 to $239,599 per student," she said; she gave similar ranges for RISE ($164,851–$219,599), SOAR ($104,000–$143,000) and STRIDE ($165,000–$222,000). Committee members pressed for a full-picture budget request rather than piecemeal asks; one member urged leadership to present a single-year 'all in' request so the town and finance committee can weigh tradeoffs.

Ryan said district efforts are already reducing out-of-district placements and that the goal is to stabilize spending amid variable state reimbursements and to keep students connected to local schools and extracurricular opportunities. The committee discussed timing, transparency to parents, and the need to prioritize middle- and high-school programming so students do not have to leave the district during critical developmental years.

No formal vote was taken; the presentation was positioned as context for the upcoming Jan. 26 budget workshop.