Cochren encourages inclusiveness among students

When Kelly Cochren finished up her master’s degree in education, she didn’t expect to work with special education students -- and she especially hadn’t considered the impact they’d have on each other’s lives.

Cochren’s desire to ensure all students are included and successful is why she was nominated by Brad Norton as a Difference Maker.

Most recently, Cochren taught the Life Skills class at Bloomfield High School before transitioning into her new career helping other educators to practice the same principles.

“When I came right out of school, I had been working in my kid’s elementary school in Winslow where we are from, with kids with special needs. When I got done (master’s in education), they asked if I would do maternity fill-in in special ed, but I had a gen ed license. Then, a position came open at the end of the year at the end of that year at Castle High School in a self-contained ED room for 10 weeks of the year. I did that and they offered me a position in the Life Skills. I didn’t have my special ed, but I thought this is something I’d want to do. I started the next year and even though I hadn’t had experience in that, I fell in love with it. I just loved it,” Cochren recalled.

“I love working with this population and seeing the growth they can accomplish, meeting the challenges and seeing their potential. I fell in love with it.”

Cochren spent 10 years at New Castle before the transition to the Life Skills Class in Bloomfield where she spent four years, and with both schools, she was able to help the students identify and surpass their goals.

While she didn’t expect to work with special education students in the career path she had planned for herself, she feels as though someone she knew as a child who had cerebral palsy shaped her desire to work with individuals of all abilities.

“We didn’t talk about it a lot growing up. She didn’t go to school, she was in a wheelchair and I think that affected me because I had several my first year with cerebral palsy, and that just really came back around because that was always with me,” Cochren explained.

While the journey was initially scary, Cochren said she has had a lot of help along the way, including the assistants she worked with at Bloomfield. With the help of the staff and support of the schools, she was able to take these educational programs to the next level to truly help the students.

“My first year, I had students that were non-verbal -- and we are talking high school -- but I just knew they could do more than what they were showing. Some would say the job was babysitting, but there are things we can do. If you’re talking to them, reading to them, you could tell they knew things. It may be the way their eyes gaze at you,” Cochren recalled.

So, she went to the school and asked for some changes -- which were granted with the students’ best interests in mind.

It ranged from rearranging the seating to creating their own coffee shop, which gave the students their job to learn and be in charge of a small piece of the business. “The goal is to help them find their potential and work on that. For some, it might be art or telling stories. They would use that and help them learn more,” Cochren said. “It may be small, but we have to tap into that and see. It makes them feel proud and take ownership.”

At Bloomfield, Cochren said she was thankful for Principal David Dean’s support as they created Cardinal Cafe. She also worked with Mr. Dean to start the Unified Track and Cheer programs, with students of all abilities running side-by-side.

But, most importantly, Cochren worked hard to make sure all students felt included. Students of all abilities would work together, with the Peer Tutor program and hands-on projects.

At one point, Bloomfield students gathered together to find their spot on the gym floor, spelling out the words: “BE COOL. WE ARE.” It was impossible to tell among the letters who was who, and what kind of abilities those students had.

“We are all different. We all have our own abilities. It’s not disabilities, it’s differing abilities that we have. We have to celebrate those abilities in each other,” Cochren said. “It’s a win-win for everyone when we reach out to other people.

Though Cochren said she’s not the only one making a significant impact, but she appreciated someone taking notice of all she has done.