SEEM Collaborative supports North Andover students

By Monica S

ager msager@eagletribune.com

NORTH ANDOVER — Students and teachers are receiving support from the SEEM Collaborative, Superintendent Gregg Gilligan said in praising the program for bringing local districts together while providing necessary special educational programming.

“It provides services for students that may need to have schooling outside of North Andover Schools because of a disability,” said Gilligan. “It’s really evolved into not just an educational service for schools. It’s evolved into a professional development collaborative.”

The collaborative was founded in 1969 on the idea local districts can accomplish more together in educational programs and supplemental services, according to Cathy Lawson, executive director.

SEEM serves more than 375 students annually in programs for students in pre-kindergarten through 22-years-old. SEEM addresses students’ diverse needs, such as clinical and mental health, nursing, occupational and physical therapy, positive behavioral intervention and support as well as speech and language therapy.

“They expanded their assessment center, added a clinical psychologist position,” Gilligan said. “Really they’ve developed in-district social-emotional wrap-around services.”

Lawson wrote in a letter the clinical psychologist will be able to support school districts within SEEM by conducting individualized education programs (IEPs). The SEEM Assessment Intervention Center is an interim alternative setting for students, as the best long-term educational placement solution is determined. Students attend the center for up to nine school weeks, according to Lawson’s year-end review.

In Lawson’s 2023 review, she said the collaborative’s revenue comes from tuition, (65.23%), transportation (28.3%) as well as other services like food, grants, membership and professional development. The SEEM Collaborative’s 2023 fiscal year total revenue was $33,226,289, according to Lawson’s data.

North Andover students can be served by a number of SEEM schools. The Hurd Elementary Program at the Ripley School in Melrose is a therapeutic day school with the goal of equipping children with the behavioral and academic skills needed to meet a traditional elementary school program. The program serves about 50 students each year, according to Lawson. SEEM Middle School in Stoneham prepares fifth through eighth-graders for high school, while attaining social and behavioral skills needed. Programs feature project-based learning, sensory education, social skills groups and pre-vocational skills training. There’s an average of 46 to 70 students in the middle school, according to Lawson.

Campus Academy High School, at 25 William St. in Stoneham, meets credit requirements of each district represented within the SEEM Collaborative. In addition to the program features at the middle school, the high school offers instructional and assistive technologies in every classroom as well as a dual enrollment program with local community colleges. The academy’s census fluctuates between 70 and 85 students, according to Lawson.

“They have a really nice facility,” Gilligan said. “As programming needs arise, depending on disabilities, they do look to host new members.”

Gilligan added programming is a shared model with the different districts participating in the collaborative. The communities taking part include North Andover along with Lynnfield, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Saugus, Stoneham, Wakefield, Wilmington, Winchester and Woburn.

Gilligan mentioned how the North Andover School District has seen a “crunch for space” because of construction.

“But it is something that we’ll always keep an eye out for, as space becomes more available,” Gilligan said.

Follow Monica on Twitter at @MonicaSager3