Kernel of truth: Cobb School loves students

By PAT PASTERNAK- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

Founded 40 years ago as a residential facility and school for handicapped children, Cobb Memorial School sits on 40 pristine acres along a ridge of the Helderberg escarpment, just west of Albany.

The grounds overlook the Hudson-Mohawk river valley, with the Green Mountains of Vermont just visible on the eastern horizon.

The only way that the facility can be identified as a school is by an unobtrusive sign on Route 156 that directs visitors to a fenced-in playground a few hundred yards beyond the entrance. Other than a few outbuildings along the wooded drive, the only other building that greets the eye is an imposing, red, wooden structure resembling a summer camp, its wrap-around porch offering an extended view of the valley below. Inside, however, the decor reveals the building to be the school's administrative offices.

Goals

Sister Mary Thomas, PBVM, director of the Bernard and Caroline Cobb Memorial School, has been at the facility since it opened in 1962. In her early days there, she taught the handicapped children in residence.

Two other Presentation nuns, Sisters Mary Elizabeth and Miriam Ann, are teachers. Thirty to 35 lay teachers, teaching assistants and a nurse complete the staff.

"Our goal is to get the students involved as deeply as possible in their learning environment so that they will be able to return to a public school setting, where they can continue to learn with other children of normal development and behavior," Sister Mary Thomas said. "We want each student here to be able to go as far as they possibly can in their development."

Process

Reaching that goal is often a long and arduous process that takes tremendous support from all involved, including the school districts from which the students are referred and their parents.

When a student is referred to the Cobb School by their district, the work of interaction and support is put into motion. Children are placed into groups according to their ages, skill levels and learning abilities.

The students come with behavioral problems that are the result of Down syndrome, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or other problems that affect behavior and learning ability. The facility is a last resort for children who can be educated but who are "mentally retarded and/or behaviorally impaired," according to Sister Mary Thomas.

Schedule

The students attend Cobb School five days a week from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Because the program is based on a 12-month schedule, children can attend year-round. However, some come only for the summer months and then return to their own schools for the fall; others spend a year or more at the school.

Sister Mary Thomas explained that a student is referred to Cobb when they are unable to participate in a classroom setting with other students. They will already have been through any programs their local school district has for special education, as well as the New York State BOCES program. For some, however, those types of programs might not be appropriate.

"We are the last resort for the student before a residential setting," she said.

Inside story

The school facility is extensive and connected to the original building by an enclosed corridor. In 1962, Bernard and Catherine Cobb of New York City donated the original building, along with 40 acres of land, for use as a special education facility. The property was their summer residence.

Sister Mary Thomas told The Evangelist that there was a "nearly Olympic-sized," in-ground swimming pool on the property when the school opened. Students use it almost daily in the summer as part of their physical education program.

When the school opened, it housed up to 50 children, and about 80 percent of them had Down syndrome. As time went on, students with other disorders were referred. Currently, the school offers its day program to 30 students.

Working as one

The staff works closely together to bring the students, who range in age from six to sixteen, up to appropriate levels of behavior on both an individual and group basis.

"All of our teachers coordinate the subject matter of their courses into certain themes so that the children and different classes can more easily interact with each other," Sister Mary Thomas explained. "For example, our themes right now are American presidents and Martin Luther King Jr., because of the holidays."

A visit to Sister Miriam's class revealed four teenagers and one teacher's assistant who were discussing an outline of important facts for writing an essay on an American president. Another class was talking about the life and death of Dr. King.

"We have found that this type of instruction keeps the children focused on a particular issue and allows them to interact with each other in discussion," Sister Mary Thomas explained.

Multi-faceted classes

In addition to regular schoolwork, the students have classes in occupational and physical therapy, adaptive physical education, health and development, arts and crafts, computer usage, counseling, and speech and language.

They eat a hot lunch that is served "family style," giving them an opportunity to learn social skills, such as how to hold utensils and how to interact with one another during a meal.

"For some of them," Sister Mary Thomas said, "it is very difficult work. For others, it's just lunch."

Reading

In a large room located in the center of the school, a library has been set up under the direction of Sister Elizabeth. She works with the teachers to reinforce the themes they are focused on. She also reads to the children as often as possible, usually two or three times a week.

"I believe that there is nothing that will interest a child in reading more than being read to," she told The Evangelist. "Here, they can be and do whatever they want to be or do. It expands their horizons, opens the world up for them. The students love it when I read to them."

The library has audio/visual equipment, books on tape, some videos and regular books.

Outside in

Each room has large windows that allow natural lighting to flood its space.

"Up here, nature plays a big part in our curriculum," Sister Mary Thomas said. "In both winter and summer, we get the children out of doors as often as possible.

"This facility really answers what we, as teachers, want to do with these kids: to provide them with as much encouragement and guidance as possible so that they can become the people that God intended them to be. I believe that these kids are very close to God. They have an innocence and joy to them that the rest of us seem to have lost along the way. They give us so much, and I am always amazed at what they can bring out in the rest of us."

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