Find out more about COOK Education Center on Facebook
Effective and efficient teaching in small groups
Secondary programs
COOK Education Center includes two programs, Secondary, and Workshop at COOK. For all programs, school is in session for 210 days on a traditional calendar that typically, but not always begins the day after Labor Day each September. Starting 2023/2024 school year the school day is from 8:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. MWThF and from 8:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. on Tuesdays.
Secondary Program
The COOK Secondary Program enrolls up to 40 secondary students. The curriculum is broadly ranging to accommodate the needs of students for whom independent living and functional skills are essential to students who require a standard course of academic instruction necessary to obtain a high school diploma.
Workshop at COOK
Workshop at COOK enrolls up to 35 students with very severe disabilities who require many one-to-one learning opportunities to acquire communication, independent living, and self care skills.
COOK Education Center’s programs have many commonalities
Evidence-based instruction is essential
Our students require explicit instruction in small-groups with occasional one-to-one learning opportunities in order to make significant progress. Learning to mastery often requires that our students are shown how to perform tasks or solve problems and it also requires that they are provided many opportunities to practice with lots of positive reinforcement for effort and improvement.
Self-management and self-control
It is also common for our students to require specific instruction in how to organize themselves and their study space, and they often must be taught to interact appropriately with their peers and with their teachers. Some require intensive Behavior Intervention Plans implemented by highly trained personnel in order to consistently display socially appropriate behavior.
A “Catch ’em being good” school
COOK Education Center is a highly structured, Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) school. We teach our students how to do the right thing and we frequently catch them doing the right thing and praise them for it. It is common for our students to come to enjoy school, to make good progress, and to make good friends for the first time.
A richly inclusive school
COOK Education Center is a richly inclusive co-educational school, enrolling students who are eligible for special education services from 7th grade through age 22 and nearly the full range of disabilities.
COOK Education Center makes school as fun as possible
while emphasizing the achievement of IEP goals.
We “catch ‘em being good” all day every day!
