Find out more about COOK Education Center on Facebook
We’ve been educating students with learning and behavior disabilities for nearly 40 years, and have served hundreds of families and over 30 San Diego area school districts. That’s a lot of questions and answers. As unique as each student and family is, there tend to be questions that get asked fairly often, at least often enough that we have compiled some of those that have been asked most frequently and have provided an answer. Just click on the question. You may want to know more. If so, please contact us.
What is a nonpublic school (NPS)?
COOK Education Center specializes in educating students who could not obtain an education appropriate to their needs in the public schools. Because of our on-going training in evidence-based teaching and therapy methods, we are specialists in providing appropriate education for students whose disabilities include learning, communication, and behavior problems.
What DIS Services do you provide?
Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy are provided for up to 30 minutes per week in a pull-out format that involves a minimum of two students per session. These services are generally not provided in a one-to-one format; rather, they are primariiy implemented by the student’s team of teachers and paraprofessionals throughout the student’s school day as guided by the student’s therapist. Our integrated service delivery model permits students to acquire the relevant skills as quickly as possible and to generalize those skills across school environments.
Counseling services are devoted primarily to the teaching of social skills. Similar to our integrated model for Speech and Language Therapy, social skills instruction occurs throughout the student’s school day and is taught by all team members. Social skills instruction is only occasionally conducted as a pull-out service. Counselors also manage the occasional traumatic episodes in the lives of our students.
Behavior Intervention Planning, based on Functional Analyses or Functional Assessments, are provided under the direction of Behavior Intervention Case Managers, and are provided whenever a student’s problem behavior is sufficiently severe that it cannot be addressed merely by classroom behavior management strategies.
Students may require other DIS according to their IEPs, which may be provided by school district personnel or by individuals contracted independently by the school district, but not by COOK Education Center or other TIEE personnel.
How long will our child stay at COOK Education Center?
The student might begin achieving at the desired level and have fewer needs, which will permit the student to return to a public school placement. In this case, the student’s transition could be facilitated by a dual enrollment in which the student attends public school for a portion of the school day but retains placement at COOK Education Center.
The public school might implement a program that is demonstrably appropriate to the student’s needs, resulting in the possible return of the student to that public school program.
The student might pass all of the requirements to obtain a high school diploma from the public school district or reach the age of 22 and no longer be eligible for special education and services.
The student might reach 18 years of age and otherwise be eligible to transition to TIEE’s Urban Skills Center to continue special education and DIS until graduation or reaching age 22.
It is also possible that COOK Education Center is not able to implement a program that meets the student’s needs, including the possibility that the student just does not want to attend school. Such students are referred to other possible schools through the IEP process.
Otherwise, students can remain enrolled at COOK Education Center and we welcome the opportunity to provide for them a program that is appropriate to their needs.
What opportunities do you offer for family involvement?
Parents can also learn more about the school’s program by scheduling classroom observations and video views. Also, through regular phone calls with the child’s teachers, parents can remain current on their child’s progress, provide information concerning progress at home, and learn how they might assist the school’s instructional team.
How do I get in touch with my child’s teacher?
What can we do to help our child be successful in school?
Does the school have a dress code?
What is the policy on students bringing their own games and so on to school?
Neither weapons of any kind, nor toys that resemble weapons may be brought to school. Doing so risks placement at COOK Education Center.
The school also recommends against your child wearing expensive clothing and jewelry.
What do I do if my child is going to be late, absent, or picked up early?
Do students get a summer break?
The school year begins on the day after Labor Day and usually ends during the last week of July. Students have vacation during the month of August.