PAC Background

The Pilgrim Area Collaborative was established in 1976 to provide individualized educational services to children with significant learning challenges whose needs for support could not be met within their home school districts or service areas.  Pilgrim Area Collaborative is one of thirty educational collaboratives in Massachusetts and provides programs and services to over students and families from over 30 communities on the South Shore and Cape Cod.

Children are referred to PAC programs and services by appropriate liaisons from their local school districts. While the majority of students served come from the member school districts of Carver, Duxbury, Halifax, Kingston, Marshfield, Middleborough, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Silver Lake Regional, Stoughton and Whitman Hanson Regional School District, PAC also serves a significant number of students from municipalities outside the membership region.

PAC students are educated primarily in substantially separate classrooms located in age-appropriate public schools within member school districts. PAC students are provided opportunities to be included within typical education classes and activities as appropriate, and to be active participants in the school community, as well as the local municipality.
PAC also extends its services to home and community through its Pilgrim Area Collaborative Extended Services (PACES) program, through home consulting and training for parents and students, consulting to professional staff in school districts and offering professional development to districts. In addition, PAC runs extended day and extended year (summer) programs.

Parents play an active role in their child's education through development of their son/daughter's Individualized Education Program (IEP), by volunteering in PAC classrooms, and by participating in the activities of the Collaborative at large. The Pilgrim Area Collaborative Parent-Staff Organization (PAC PSO) provides a vehicle for parents to work together with PAC staff and administration to support the development of collaborative programs and services.

PAC is governed by a Board of Directors that is composed of representatives of each member school district. All PAC programs and services are overseen by an Executive Director. The Executive Director is advised by an Operating Committee that is composed of the Pupil Services Directors of each member school district.

 

STRATEGIC PLAN

In the spring of 2011, PAC completed the organization's third strategic planning process to help guide the direction of the collaborative for the next five years.  Participation was open to all constituents and included the Board of Directors, Operating Committee, member town Superintendent of Schools and Special Education Directors, as well as PAC staff and families.

The process was designed to answer two essential questions. The first and foremost question was the degree to which the collaborative programs and services were meeting their established mission and goals. The second question, one that was geared to the future work of the collaborative, was designed to determine the degree to which stakeholders felt that the collaborative should expand services with regard to their existing programs or to areas not currently offered.

The resulting document will serve as a vehicle of positive change and enhanced effectiveness of programs and services for the near and distant future.

Click here for full Strategic Plan document

PAC Member Towns

Carver, Duxbury, Halifax, Kingston, Marshfield, Middleborough, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Silver Lake Regional, Stoughton and Whitman-Hanson Regional