Out of His Head
Posts from Dr. Francis TaboneOut of His Head – What’s New at SKILLs? Read all About It!
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 school....
Out of His Head – Cooke’s WORM Lab
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...
Out of His Head – Understanding the Landscape of Special Education
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...
Out of His Head – Transition to Semesters
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...
Out of His Head – Welcome Back 2019-2020 School Year!
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, including...
Out of His Head – Internship Fair
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...
Out of His Head – CUNY Unlimited
CUNY Unlimited CUNY has been developing a program for special needs students in their locations all around the city. The details are fuzzy, but there is some progress. At this point, they are accepting applications for the 2019/2020 school year. CUNY Unlimited is a...
Out of His Head – A First for Cooke and New York State!
Cooke SKILLs Students First to Sign Supported Decision Making Agreements In New York State Supported Decision Making Agreements (SDMA) for adults with disabilities is a relatively new concept in New York, but not in other parts of the country. Texas,...
Out of His Head – The Difficult Conversation
The Difficult Conversation... Talking sex with your child is difficult for many parents. As a parent of a child with special needs, this may prove even more difficult. However, it is a necessary step in parenting that helps avoid confusion for our...
Out of His Head -What Isn’t Special About Special Education?
What Isn't Special About Special Education? I spent the spring break at Joshua Tree National Park. As cliché as it sounds, the desert has a calming and reflecting effect upon one’s mind. It is like a reset button for thought and awareness. Walking from...