'Here, you are our primary focus': Northbrook's Cove School celebrates 75th anniversary

Students with learning disabilities - whose needs couldn't be met in other learning environments - have found a sense of belonging at the private K-12 Cove School in Northbrook, which celebrated its 75th year recently with a benefit that raised over $600,000.

Dr. Sally Sover, Cove School's executive director, said students often come to Cove after finding lack of success at other schools. It is not uncommon for students to arrive at Cove feeling like failures, then soon finding they a part of a community, they are not alone or even in the minority, because they are with others who have similar needs and experiences, she said.

"When you are coming into Cove School, for family and students, most of the time they are feeling like where they were previously was just not a good fit for them; that the schools didn't fully understand their needs," Sover said.

Cove School was founded in 1947 by Dr. Alfred A. Strauss, a child psychiatrist-neurologist, in Racine, Wisconsin. In 1950, the Cove Day School opened in Evanston; due to growth, it moved a few more times before settling in Northbrook in 1996.

The residential facility in Racine Closed permanently in 1968.

Smaller class sizes and lower student-to-teacher ratios are part of what makes Cove School successful, Sover said. There are 160 students and 115 staff members.

"Here, you are our primary focus," Sover said. "This is all we do, is think about you and think about what is needed to have you be successful in life."

Students come from 65 different school districts and travel up to 90 minutes one way.

Information provided by Cove states that the school addresses specific language, fine motor learning, attention and social needs. One way this is accomplished is through an integrated approach to educational support, including speech and language therapy, auditory comprehension, expressive language and pragmatic language, access to technology to support all academics, and a multisensory approach to learning academics.

Fine arts including music, as well as health and fitness, literacy, and math are among the subjects taught.

In addition, students benefit from social skills instruction taught within the classroom and in small groups; they also have opportunities to be in a social environment with peers and make friends.

• For information about Cove School, 350 Lee Road, Northbrook, call (847) 562-2100 or visit coveschool.org.