Cambria Height's - Children of Peril in Education (COPE)

Children of Peril in Education (COPE)

Cambria Heights Middle School

The COPE program allows students with academic, behavioral, emotional, or transitional concerns to receive additional supports from a core teacher without being identified for  special education services.  Students placed in the COPE program are monitored by their homeroom teachers in two ways.  First, each homeroom teacher monitors his or her COPE students daily homework completion, behavior, and other areas of concern.  Using the school’s academic planners, email, and telephone, parents of COPE students communicate daily with their children's’ teachers.  Additionally, teachers meet one-on-one with their COPE students every eighteen days.  One these days, the teacher’s classes attend computer courses, giving the COPE teacher time to observe his or her students in other classes, meet to review grades, discuss any concerns the students are having, and complete Math and Reading progress monitoring using AIMSweb.  

In recent years, the COPE program has grown to incorporate many aspects of an RTII model.  In doing so, COPE has resulted in fewer students being identified for special education services and has allowed other students access to monitoring and mentoring services that they otherwise might not have.  In particular, COPE has allowed teachers to work more closely with students who are new to the district, have low PSSA scores, struggle with homework completion outside the school setting, work best in small group or one-on-one environments, or have behavioral or emotional problems that affect their learning and the learning of others. At the sixth and seventh grade levels, COPE improves students’ organization, social skills, and self-esteem.  At the eighth grade level, COPE is a valuable program for students who might struggle while preparing to transition to high school.

Finally, student involvement in COPE is not a rigid process.  New students can be recommended for the program at any time, while others exit the program when they no longer need the individualized support it offers.  For additional information, please contact Cambria Heights Middle School Principal Dave Caldwell (dcaldwell@chsd1.org) or Guidance Counselor Rhonda Sprenger (rsprenger@chsd1.org).