by Dr. Francis Tabone | Feb 5, 2020 | Out of His Head
BIG NEWS! SKILLs is Changing its Name to Cooke Transitions in September! SKILLs (Skills and Knowledge for Independent Living and Learning) was started in 2009 to provide a community-based transition program for our students after four years at the high...by Dr. Francis Tabone | Jan 8, 2020 | Out of His Head
Welcome 2020! Why should you be excited? I can give you lots of reasons. First, we will start our 2020 Summer Academy program (for grades K-8, and grades 9-12) in our new building! Yes, it’s true. We will move into our new building this summer. Although SKILLs...by Dr. Francis Tabone | Nov 25, 2019 | Out of His Head
Special Education in New York City: Understanding the Landscape Information on special education in New York City is never easy to navigate. There is little quantitative data to highlight the 5W’s (who, what, where, when and why) needed to evaluate effective...by Dr. Francis Tabone | Oct 24, 2019 | Out of His Head
Transition to Semesters One of the changes you will experience this year is our move from three trimesters to two semesters. This was something that was discussed for a year before we implemented it with the school leadership teams. While we are moving from three...by Dr. Francis Tabone | Sep 10, 2019 | Out of His Head
Welcome to all returning and new Cooke families! It is gearing up to be an amazing year, with many wonderful new additions to our programs. Here’s what you can expect this year: First, Cooke will be enhancing its programs through the addition of new staff,...by Dr. Francis Tabone | May 2, 2019 | Out of His Head
COOKE INTERNSHIP FAIR On Thursday, April 18th, the Vocational Services department and the junior class hosted an activity-based Internship Fair for Cooke Academy students. The juniors prepared informational videos about our six types of internships at CA and prepared...
HIGH SCHOOL TRANSITIONS CONSULTING SERVICESAlthough High School students with disabilities may be planning for a different future than their typically developing peers, meaningful job-focused futures are within reach. Working alongside your staff, Cooke Institute consultants collaborate with you to develop a Vocational Skills program with Transition Services that best meet the needs of your high school students.
Cooke supports your school in developing a meaningful alternative post-secondary pathway program which prepares your students in becoming independent and contributing members of society and active participants in their community. Consultant services are customizable to fit your specific needs.
Some offerings include:
• Providing targeted, 1:1 coaching for job coaches, educators, and other role-specific support staff with the training they need to assist students while promoting independence.
• Designing and implementing Vocational Skills classes targeting technical and interpersonal skills necessary for success in any workplace.
• Identifying community partners who can provide robust internship experiences which hone in on student’s individual strengths and interests.
• Utilizing Assessment tools that capture meaningful outcomes demonstrating student progress.
• Guidance on person-centered transition support to young adults and their families focusing on hard and soft skills as they plan for an alternative post-secondary career path
As educators, you are faced each day with the joy and challenge of meeting your students’ unique learning needs across the curriculum and elevating student outcomes.
Working alongside your staff, Cooke Institute consultants collaborate with you to identify your literacy, math, and / or special education needs. Cooke consultants work 1:1 with your teachers to build the capacity to bring the diverse needs of all learners to the forefront of their teaching, including culturally and linguistically diverse students, students with IEPs and students at-risk for low academic achievement.
Consultant services are customizable to fit your specific needs. Some offerings include:
• Individualized coaching to strengthen and enhance pedagogical practices, instructional strategies and interventions using evidence-based best practices.
• Leveraging multiple sources of data to help teachers identify, understand, and implement techniques that address the learning needs of all students.
• Debriefing and meeting sessions within and across grade levels to collaboratively reflect and plan effective, differentiated instruction.
• Capacity building throughout the school to embrace inclusive practices.
Pre-K students, specifically 4 year olds, come to school with a wide and diverse range of academic skills, social emotional competencies, and behavioral needs.
Working alongside your Pre-K educators, Cooke Institute consultants collaborate with you to identify and develop what each young child is able to do, and advance those skills in developmentally appropriate ways.
Cooke supports your Pre-K program to build the capacity to implement proactive strategies and interventions to ensure your youngest learners have the most successful academic and social experience in school and beyond. Consultant services are customizable to fit your specific needs.
Some offerings include:
• Applying best pedagogical practices to design and organize classrooms to improve teaching and learning aligned to ECERs and the Pre-K Foundation for the Common Core.
• Implementing engaging and developmentally appropriate practice and differentiated instruction aligned to the PKFCC.
• Increasing understanding of what is typical and atypical early childhood development and support with implementing strategies, interventions and accommodations for students with identified and unidentified special and unique needs.
• Utilizing the CLASS assessment tool, increasing positive interactions in Pre-K classrooms among teacher – teacher, teacher – student, and student – student.
• Increasing data-driven decision making by using data gathered by NYC DOE approved authentic assessment systems to measure and monitor student progress and assess future needs of students.
Health Update Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Please note: Cooke will begin the school year on September 14, 2020 with virtual instruction. Our locations are scheduled for an in-person reopening on October 13, 2020. The health and safety of our students, families, and staff, are our paramount focus; we remain committed to supporting our students’ education as well as the well-being of our community. We will continue to post updates, as needed, to keep everyone informed of the latest news regarding our reopening plans.
Click here to read (or download) Cooke’s Fall 2020 reopening plan.
Download: Plan for Reopening Cooke School and Institute – Aug 24 2020 – All Sites
(updated as of: August 24, 2020)
In early childhood, our coaches collaborate with you to identify and develop what each young child is able to do mathematically, and teach math concepts and skills in explicit and developmentally appropriate ways. We empower educators to build their capacity to implement strategies, interventions, and adaptations to ensure your youngest learners have the most successful academic and social-emotional experience in school and beyond.
In elementary and middle school grades, we work with you to use your existing math curriculum to advance best practices to design and deliver differentiated instruction in ways that are aligned to the NYS Next Generation Math Learning Standards. The coach and coachee develop strategies to advance mathematical knowledge, skills and concepts, and apply these in authentic ways. Assessment data is used to support teachers to differentiate instruction, target gaps in skills and concepts, and advance areas of proficiency, which ultimately improves the educational experience for all students.
In early childhood, developing early literacy skills is paramount to a child’s future achievement. So is providing differentiated support, interventions, and adaptations to intentionally meet the diverse needs of (close the reading gap among) vulnerable (underserved?) inner-city student populations. Working alongside early childhood educators, our coaches collaborate with you to identify and advance what each young child is able to do, beginning with foundational skills plus early writing skills, and teach those early literacy skills in explicit, developmentally appropriate, and joyful ways. We empower educators to build their capacity to implement proactive strategies and literacy interventions to ensure the youngest learners have the most successful academic and social-emotional experience in school and beyond.
In elementary and middle school grades, we work with you to use your current reading and writing curriculum to advance evidence-based practices to design and deliver explicit and differentiated instruction aligned to the NYS Next Generation English Language Arts Learning Standards. The coach and coachee collaborate on strategies and techniques that nurture readers and writers who critically engage with texts, are collaborative problem solvers, and effectively communicate using multiple means of expression. Assessment data is used to support teachers to differentiate instruction, target gaps in skills and knowledge, and advance areas of proficiency, which ultimately improves the educational experience for all students.
Our youngest learners come to school with a wide and diverse range of academic skills, social emotional competencies, and behavioral needs. Working alongside your Pre-K educators, our coaches collaborate with you to apply best practices to design standards-aligned instruction, organize ECERs-aligned classroom learning environments, utilize CLASS Assessment-aligned strategies, and use authentic assessment to identify and develop what each young child is able to do, and advance those skills in developmentally appropriate ways.
Ultimately the coaching supports your Pre-K program to build the capacity to implement proactive strategies and interventions to ensure your youngest learners have the most successful academic and social-emotional experience in school and beyond.
As a premier special education organization we believe whole-heartedly that one size truly does not fit all. Understanding students’ disabilities, their strengths and needs, are our passion. It is our collective responsibility to be inclusive of each individual student and provide authentic ways for all students to progress and meet learning goals and objectives.
To this end, the coach and coachee innovate and elevate a culture of inclusion for students with disabilities to learn alongside their non-disabled peers which includes collaboration, co-teaching, and universally designing and delivering differentiated instruction that ensures all students have equitable access to the general education curriculum.
Data Driven
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support Cooke every time you shop at no cost to you. When you shop at Amazon they will donate a portion of the purchase price to Cooke. On your first visit to AmazonSmile you need to select Cooke School and Institute on the drop down menu of charitable organizations before you begin shopping. After that Cooke will remain your favorite charity and then every eligible purchase at AmazonSmile will result in a donation.
For more information, click here.
Through the Affinity Membership Program, TD Bank will make an annual contribution to Cooke School based on the activity of all participating members’ TD Bank accounts.
Eligible accounts include:
If you are already a TD Bank customer, please visit any one of their locations and ask to have your balances included as part of the Cooke’s Affinity Membership Program (code: A1923).
Please see the Affinity Membership Program flyer for more information.
Legacy giving is very important to Cooke’s sustainability. Please contact Michael Eaton at Advancement@Cookeschool.org for more information.
Cooke will earn 10% cashback on each sale placed through our Minted.com storefront at cooke.minted.com.
Minted crowd-sources design and art from a global community of independent designers, then sells their best designs as fine products such as stationery, wall art, and décor for the home, holidays, and occasions.
