Welcome to Hopewell School!
We hope this virtual tour can answer any questions you may have about our program.
00:10 - Introduction
00:20 - General overview
01:22 - Preschool Program
03:14 - School Age Program
04:42 - Transition Age Program
06:28 - Cafeteria & Meals
07:17 - Nurse
07:40 - Sensory Room
08:23 - Home Living Room
09:06 - Playground
10:05 - Assistive Technology
11:10 - Conclusion
Hopewell School also offers food service, a full time nurse, therapy, our sensory room, our home living room, our inclusive playground and we utilize Assistive Technology.
Typically our Food Service Manager goes to the Coshocton County Career Center to get the students food, prepares it and serves it in our lunchroom; however with COVID we have adapted our lunch routines. Our Food Service Manager has still been getting our food from the CCCC, but instead of serving it in our cafeteria she has been putting it on carts and delivering it to the classrooms and the students have been eating lunches in their rooms. Doing our lunches this way gives less exposure to the students, teachers and staff at Hopewell School.
We have a full time nurse on staff at Hopewell School. She has been vital because we have several students with medical needs that she can help take care of. She can do feeding tubes, pass medications and address any other medical need that our students have in a timely manner.
We are also very blessed to have a team of Therapists on staff- they are comprised of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and a Speech Language Pathologist. They are imperative at helping our students gain strength and developing their fine motor skills, sensory motor skills and visual motor skills that children need to function and socialize. In collaboration with the family and classroom staff, our therapists perform activities that children may find challenging by addressing sensory, social, motor and environmental issues. Typically we also offer aquatic water therapy at the 311 building but with COVID we have put that program on hold.
Our Sensory Room is a calm and quiet room that allows students to relax. This room has many different items that can help a student calm down including vibrating chairs, a water bed, color changing lights, crash pads and other tactile items. When the student is relaxed, it can be easier for them to focus and work on their IEP goals.
Our Home Living room is a kitchen and large table where students of any age can come learn how to safely be in a kitchen. They do fun cooking projects with their peers in a safe environment. They also learn how to find items and put things away. All of the drawers and cupboards are labeled with what goes inside so it is easy for students to find things and put them away at the end of the project.
Our inclusive playground is completely paved, has ramps and inclusive play pieces so all children; regardless of ability is able to play together in the same space. We recently purchased the Sway Fun which allows children in wheelchairs or walkers to easily access the piece and all the children can swing together on it. Our playground also has adaptive swings so those in wheelchairs or those with low muscle tone can safely swing.
At Hopewell School, we also utilize a lot of Assistive Technology. This allows for the children who do not communicate with words to learn how to communicate in a different manner with everyone around them. We use switches, iPads and our newest piece of equipment is the Eye Gaze. The Eye Gaze has a special eye tracking camera that observes one of the student’s eyes. This allows the student to control the computer using just their eyes! Our students are still in the beginning phases of learning to use this technology but as they learn how to use it, they will eventually be able to select words to communicate with anyone around them independently.
Hopewell Schools offers an opportunity for older students to learn at their own pace in a safe environment. In addition to our four preschool classes, we also have a “School Age” classroom and a “Transition Age” classroom.
Our School Age classroom is designed for children kindergarten through age 12. The students in this class are working on the Extended Content Standards; which is the same content standards that children in public schools learn but it is modified down to meet them at their level. This classroom is very hands on to help the children learn the standards. The classroom uses a lot of adaptive equipment in order to help the children thrive. We help the children get out of their wheelchairs (if they are in one) and use standers, gait trainers, adaptive chairs and more. Our classroom is designed around the student needs.
Our Transition Age classroom is designed for teenagers and young adults ages 13 until they graduate from our program which could be at their 22nd birthday. This classroom is geared toward helping the students be prepared for life outside of the school building. They work on life skills like going grocery shopping, shopping from a list, paying for purchases, going out to restaurants and more. They like to interact with the Coshocton County Career Center (although this year with COVID we haven’t been doing that) to go to the Cosmetology lab to get their hair and nails done and go to the cooking class to learn about cooking skills. We do our best to help the children learn how to be as independent as they possibly can so they can go on to do great things!
