Special Education Department
The Special Education Department is committed to providing students with disabilities the services and supports necessary for success at Bristol-Plymouth. We utilize an inclusion model in which special education teachers and paraprofessionals collaborate closely with academic content teachers to meet students’ needs directly within the classroom. Additionally, a special education teacher consults with Career Technical Education (CTE) instructors and monitors students’ progress within their technical programs.
All of our teachers are fully licensed in Special Education, and our paraprofessionals meet the highly qualified standards set by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Each student with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) is assigned to one of the teachers listed below, who serves as their case manager. In addition to teaching responsibilities, case managers oversee the development of their students’ IEPs during Team meetings and track progress each quarter.
Transition planning is an essential component of our special education program. For students age 14 and older, IEPs include goals and services designed to prepare them for postsecondary education, employment, and independent living. Case managers work with students, families, and CTE instructors to ensure that students gain the skills, certifications, and experiences needed to succeed beyond high school.
Consistent home-to-school communication is a priority of our department. Contact information for all department members is provided below.
Staff
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Amy Cohen, Special Education Coordinator, acohen@bptech.org, Ext. 114
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Joanne Symmonds, Special Education Secretary, jsymmonds@bptech.org, Ext. 427
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Kristyn Nunes, Speech Pathologist, knunes@bptech.org, Ext. 157
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Ashley Dodd, IEP Team Chairperson, adodd@bptech.org, Ext. 335
Special Education Teachers
- Erryn Bennett ebennett@bptech.org
- Nicole DeTerra ndeterra@bptech.org
- Victoria Keissling vkeissling@bptech.org
- Lindsey Lariviere llariviere@bptech.org
- Jennifer McCartin jmccartin@bptech.org
- Mari Gates mgates@bptech.org
- Gregory Pavao gpavao@bptech.org
- Amy Sears asears@bptech.org
- Amy Slavin aslavin@bptech.org
- Tarsha Veiga tveiga@bptech.org
Paraprofessionals
- Elise Abbott eabbott@bptech.org
- Julie Bariteau jbariteau@bptech.org
- Sarah Bianchi sbianchi@bptech.org
- Anna Goss agoss@bptech.org
- Tayla MacKinnon tmackinnon@bptech.org
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Kathleen Maloney kmaloney@bptech.org
- Michele Pearce mpearce@bptech.org
Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC)
Meeting information will be emailed prior to each date with the agenda for the evening and specific location in the school building. For questions about the SEPAC, please contact Amy Cohen at acohen@bptech.org
Thursday, December 11, 2025 - 6 p.m. (Virtual Only) - Federation for Children with Special Needs will present Basic Rights: Transition Planning - Register Here!
Wednesday, January 21, 2026 - 6 p.m. (In-Person with Virtual option) - MassAbility and the Southeast Center for Independent Living will present on school-age and adult transition programs - Register Here!
Wednesday, March 25, 2026 - 6 p.m. (In-Person with Virtual option) - Executive Functioning presentations by B-P teacher, Nicole DeTerra - Register Here!
Thursday, May 21, 2026 - 6 p.m. (In-Person with Virtual option) - Planning for the 2026-2027 school year - Register Here!
Bristol-Plymouth SEPAC is a member of MassPac, a division of the Federation for Children with Special Needs. As members, all families within the district have access to virtual workshops on a variety of topics. To access these workshops or to find out more about MassPac, please visit https://fcsn.org/events/
Each meeting begins at 6 p.m. and will be offered in person and virtual. Meeting information, such as the location within the school building and the virtual meeting link, are emailed to those who register.
https://www.doe.mass.
