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Community Corner

New Director of Student Services Aims to Improve Special Education Program

Dana Corriveau finds herself implementing the recommendations of her own report.

When opportunity knocked for Dana Corriveau last spring, she was in the right place at the right time.

Corriveau, a special education consultant for the Connecticut Department of Education (DOE), had recently finished a report on the North Branford Public Schools special education program when .

The report was for a review to determine the strengths and weaknesses of North Haven’s educational program for students with disabilities.

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Corriveau, a Bristol resident, led the team from the DOE, which included other consultants from the State Education Resource Center (SERC), and special education parents representing the Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center (CPAC).

SERC is a state-funded, nonprofit organization funded providing technical assistance to the DOE and local districts. The CPAC parent representatives were not from North Haven, but Corriveau said the advocacy organization did a survey of the town’s parents of students with disabilities so their views were included.

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Local parents cited the report’s lukewarm assessment when they opposed proposed cuts in special education teacher positions during .

Corriveau, who started as Director of Student Services on July 1, said there was a "significant learning curve" for the job, but she has received lots of help and a warm welcome from her new colleagues.

"We strive to be the best district we can be for our students with disabilities, so it’s my job to see that we are that district," she said.

Corriveau earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary and Special Education from the University of Hartford and her Master’s degree from Cambridge College. She was a special education teacher in New Haven for several years before taking a job with the Woburn, Massachusetts, public schools. But after she got married in 2006, she moved back to Connecticut and took the job with the state.

Now she finds herself implementing the recommendations of her own report.

She said she thinks it is especially important to improve education for students with disabilities in the early grades. "The earlier we get to the students in education, the better the outcomes are," she said.

Corriveau said North Haven has been successful including students with disabilities in the regular classrooms. Now it must improve the quality of what those students get out of it.

She said she also thinks it is important for high school-level students to be prepared for life after school, either if they work or further their educations.

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