Massachusetts Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education
75 Pleasant Street, Malden, Massachusetts 02148-4096
Telephone: (781) 338-3700
TTY: N.E.T. Relay 1-800-439-2370
January 26, 2009
Kevin Farr, Superintendent
Upper Cape Cod Regional Vocational Technical School
220 Sandwich Road
Bourne, MA 02532
Re: Mid-cycle Report
Dear Superintendent Farr:
Enclosed is the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Mid-cycle Report
based on the Mid-cycle Review conducted in your district in January 2009. In this Midcycle Review the Department monitored selected special education criteria to determine
your district’s compliance with special education laws and regulations. The review
consisted of staff interviews, review of student records, examination of documentation,
and classroom observations.
We are pleased to tell you that the Department has found your district to be in compliance
with all of the criteria monitored in your district during the Mid-cycle Review. The
findings of the Department are included in the enclosed report. You and your entire staff
are to be congratulated for your success in implementing the requirements included in
these criteria.
The Mid-cycle chairperson would like to commend the following programs and practices
that were brought to the chairperson’s attention and that are believed have a significant
positive impact on the education of students enrolled in the Upper Cape Cod Regional
Vocational Technical School. These programs and practices are as follows:
With the support of its parent advisory council, the district has made extensive gains in
updating and increasing the availability of assistive technology. Vocational content and
curriculum can now be accessed through text to word programs, providing supports to all
students. The district has also hired an assistive technology consultant and is developing
an assistive technology plan of expansion. This plan will ensure that shop areas have
assistive technology specific to the vocational curriculum.
The district has completed extensive cross-content curriculum mapping between
academic and vocational areas. The district has curriculum maps that overlap for all
academic and vocational areas by grade level. The district also has an exemplary
continuum of services; several retired teachers work in the district and provide support
services to special education students in the general curriculum. These professionals also
1
provide academic supports and services in vocational areas of study. This support is
individualized and specific to each student’s IEP. Lastly, the district has made extensive
efforts to ensure that parents of special education students are involve in the special
education parent advisory council. Parents are also recruited and actively involved in the
Parent-Teacher Organization and the Principal’s Advisory Counsel.
The Department will notify you of your district's next regularly scheduled Coordinated
Program Review (CPR) several months before it is to occur. At this time we anticipate
that this CPR will occur sometime during the 2011-2012 school year unless the
Department determines that there is some reason to schedule this visit earlier.
Your staff's cooperation throughout this Mid-cycle Review is appreciated. If you have
questions about this letter or the enclosed report, please do not hesitate to contact Lynn
Summerill at 781-338-3761.
Sincerely,
Lynn A. Summerill, Mid-cycle Review Chairperson
Program Quality Assurance Services
Darlene A. Lynch, Director
Program Quality Assurance Services
cc:
Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D., Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary
Education
Vani Rastogi-Kelly, Supervisor, Program Quality Assurance Services
Penny Blackwell, School Committee Chairperson
Toni Link, Local Program Review Coordinator
Encs: Mid-cycle Report
2
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
MID-CYCLE REPORT
Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School
Date of the Mid-cycle Review Onsite: January 8, 2009
Date of this Report: January 26, 2009
Core Special Education Criteria Cited in CPR Report and Monitored in this Mid-cycle Review
(These criteria are marked with a triple asterisk (***) in the Mid-cycle Review Information Package and in
the School District Information Package for Special Education.)
Current special education criteria available by scrolling down to the special education instrument at
http://www.doe.mass.edu/pqa/review/cpr/default.html
Criterion
***SE 29
Communications
are in English
and primary
Criterion
Implemented


Criterion
Partially
Implemented
(PI) or Not
Implemented
(NI)
Method(s) of
Investigation
Basis of Determination
about Criterion
Review of
student
records,
documentation
The district does not currently
have any LEP students.
However, the district has
procedures and processes in
If Partially
Implemented or Not
Implemented:
(a) Required
Corrective
Action and
Timelines for
Implementation
Upper Cape Cod Regional Vocational Technical School Coordinated Program Review Mid-cycle Report
January 26, 2009
Page 1 of 4
(b) Progress
Report Due
Date(s) and
Required
Elements
Criterion
Criterion
Implemented

language of
home
***SE 32
Parent advisory
council for
special

Criterion
Partially
Implemented
(PI) or Not
Implemented
(NI)
Method(s) of
Investigation
Basis of Determination
about Criterion
and interviews
place to ensure that
communications with parents
are in their primary language.
For example, the district has
contracted with an interpreter
and translator for Spanish.
The district also contracts
with the U-Mass Translation
Center, which provides
translation and interpreting
services in over 80 languages.
Review of
documents
and interviews
If Partially
Implemented or Not
Implemented:
(a) Required
Corrective
Action and
Timelines for
Implementation
Lastly, the district has a sign
language interpreter for the
hearing impaired who
routinely attends Team
meetings, as evidenced by the
signed Team meeting
attendance sheets.
The district has an established
parent advisory council
(PAC), as evidenced by a
newly elected PAC
Upper Cape Cod Regional Vocational Technical School Coordinated Program Review Mid-cycle Report
January 26, 2009
Page 2 of 4
(b) Progress
Report Due
Date(s) and
Required
Elements
Criterion
Criterion
Implemented

Criterion
Partially
Implemented
(PI) or Not
Implemented
(NI)
Method(s) of
Investigation
education
***SE 52A
Registration of
educational
interpreters
***SE 55
Special
education
facilities and
classrooms


Review of
documents
and interviews
Observation
of facilities
and
classrooms
Basis of Determination
about Criterion
If Partially
Implemented or Not
Implemented:
(a) Required
Corrective
Action and
Timelines for
Implementation
chairperson, PAC by-laws, a
meeting agenda, signed
attendance sheets, PAC
information and materials,
and parent surveys following
PAC meetings. The PAC
meets three times a year and
is assisting the district in the
evaluation process, including
evaluating the assistive
technology in the programs.
The district has two
interpreters for deaf and hard
of hearing students; both are
registered with the Mass
Commission for the Deaf and
Hard of Hearing.
The district has a definitive
space for speech therapy
services that maximizes the
inclusion of students into the
life of the school, provides
accessibility, and is
Upper Cape Cod Regional Vocational Technical School Coordinated Program Review Mid-cycle Report
January 26, 2009
Page 3 of 4
(b) Progress
Report Due
Date(s) and
Required
Elements
Criterion
Criterion
Implemented

Criterion
Partially
Implemented
(PI) or Not
Implemented
(NI)
Method(s) of
Investigation
Basis of Determination
about Criterion
If Partially
Implemented or Not
Implemented:
(a) Required
Corrective
Action and
Timelines for
Implementation
comparable to general
education spaces.
Upper Cape Cod Regional Vocational Technical School Coordinated Program Review Mid-cycle Report
January 26, 2009
Page 4 of 4
(b) Progress
Report Due
Date(s) and
Required
Elements