Assisting families to navigate the Special Education process

from Identification to Referral to Eligibility

Children in a classroom looking at a comic book together, seated around a table with art supplies.

Our Services

Outdoor concrete staircase with metal railing against a gray wall.

Guidance on what to expect at each step in the process

Assist in understanding parental and child rights under IDEA and state law

Assist during the referral process and eligibility determination

Prepare families and guardians for IEP/504 meetings

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Thorough Records Review and Report Interpretation

Support families with understanding their child’s evaluation reports

Interpretation of all evaluation reports

Goal review planner on dotted paper, featuring a calendar layout for writing sessions and articles published. Includes sections for reviewing, assessing, and planning goals. Pens are nearby.

Evaluation of current or proposed 504 plans, IEPs, FBAs

Evaluate current and proposed 504 or Individual Education Program (IEP) goals and objectives

Evaluate Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs)

About

Avril dePagter, PhD

Avril has spent her career in public education, working in a variety of special education roles across several school districts. As a one-to-one paraprofessional in the Brookline Public Schools, Avril was recruited to be the lead special education teacher in a substantially separate classroom for students with multiple/severe disabilities in grades 3-8. After seven years of teaching, Avril transitioned into the Boston Public School district as a Coordinator of Special Education at three schools in Boston. Next, Avril served as the Strand Specialist for the Inclusion - Vision - Multiple Disabilities classrooms at a large K-8 building in Dorchester where she was responsible for staff professional development and ensuring access to high quality, data-based curriculum that she adapted and modified to provide access for learners with complex needs.

Focusing more on curricular accommodations/modifications and on training teachers to work more effectively to give students with disabilities access to rigorous educational experiences, Avril took on the role of a district-wide Inclusive Practices Support Specialist, supporting over nineteen schools across Roxbury and Dorchester. Currently, Avril works as an Instructional Coach at a therapeutic public day school in Boston, supporting teachers and school staff to expand their pedagogical practices with an eye towards increasing the academic and social emotional success of their students.

Avril brings her wealth of experience as a special educator, teacher leader, and instructional coach to her work with families and guardians, helping to ensure that every child receives the services and interventions that they deserve.

Educational Background

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Urban Education, Leadership, and Policy Studies … University of Massachusetts - Boston

Masters of Science (M.S.) in Special Education - Severe Disabilities … Simmons University

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Deaf Studies … Boston University

Licenses held in Massachusetts

Special Education Administrator

Special Education Teacher - Severe Disabilities (all grades, K-12+)

Sheltered English Immersion (endorsement)

Wilson Reading Program Level 1 Certification