Wayland Public Schools aims to help all students achieve their full potential. This is not an easy feat when students bring to the table highly differing needs. Director of Student Services Marlene Dodyk works with special education teachers, regular education teachers, school administration and guidance staff in order to make sure that students’ needs are met.

“Some of my services include working with special education teachers to provide services to students who are identified as [needing] special education, and working on the kinds of services that we deliver, the programs we offer, the resources that are needed and collaborating with regular education teachers about how do we provide accommodations for students within the regular education classroom,” Dodyk said. “I also work with guidance staff in terms of how do we meet the needs of students in terms of their social and emotional needs. Part of Student Services also includes ELL [English Language Learners]. I work with the ELL coordinator, who works with the ELL teachers.”

Various services are offered in the Wayland Public Schools.

“We have the services of a special education teacher, who can deliver services either in the special education classroom…[or] in the regular education classroom,” Dodyk said. According to Dodyk, special education teachers might teach small groups in classrooms or co-teach a classroom.

There are also additional services offered outside the regular education classroom.

“[These programs address] additional remediation for reading, for language arts, for organizational skills or math,” Dodyk said.

Dodyk notes that there are also programs for students’ social and emotional needs and speech, language, physical, occupational therapists and behavioral analysts employed by the school system.

Dodyk has spent her entire career working in Wayland Public Schools, for a total of 37 years. Dodyk has been director of Student Services for eight years. Prior to that, she was the Assistant Director of Special Education for six years. She also worked as the out-of-district early childhood coordinator for Wayland Public Schools for 17 years, helping students’ families find accommodations outside of the district. Before that, she worked as a special education teacher at Claypit Hill School for six years.

Dodyk has a Bachelor of Arts in Education and Psychology from Brooklyn College, a master’s degree in Special Education from Boston University and a doctorate in School Administration and Curriculum and Instruction and school administration from Boston College.

Dodyk was inspired to pursue this career path through her experiences with her family.

“I had two very close family members who had special needs themselves, and I drew my inspiration from them,” Dodyk said. “All students can learn…each child has potential, and my job was to help children achieve that potential.”