Page 22 - BusinessWest May 26, 2025

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Focus on
the Future
Collaborative
for Educational
Services
Emphasizes
Lifelong Learning
BY JOSEPH BEDNAR
[email protected]
“Everyone is a learner.”
Those are the words used on marketing
materials for the Collaborative for Educational
Services (CES), one of 24 such collabora-
tives in Massachusetts and arguably the most
robust when it comes to programming.
“We’re kind of different than the other 23,” Executive Direc-
tor Todd Gazda told BusinessWest. “The other 23 collabora-
tives really focus on special education and direct services to stu-
dents — autism programs or behavior programs or programs
for students with developmental delays, situations where their
regular public school district doesn’t have the capacity to effec-
tively meet their needs and they are looking an out-of-district
placement.
“One of the areas that we’ve really gotten into
recently is AI — how do we support districts as
they seek to kind of adapt to AI and its use in
schools and its use in instruction, and how do
we effectively utilize it to support learning in
the classroom?”
“What happens is the districts get together and form a col-
laborative to pool resources and work in a manner that sup-
ports maximizing resources,” he explained. “One school district
may be too small to apply for a grant, but if the collaborative
pulls together three or four or five districts, then they can help
Executive Director
Todd Gazda
22 MAY 26, 2025
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