BeCool High School

What It's About

High school can be a challenging time for special education students, particularly when it comes to managing conflicts. Teasing, criticism, anger, and bullying can lead to devastating outcomes that can impact a student’s self-esteem and overall well-being.

That’s why the BeCool High School program was designed to help special education students cope with these challenges while maintaining their dignity and respect. By teaching students effective conflict management strategies, the program can help promote healthier relationships, increased self-esteem, and better overall outcomes.

With four comprehensive modules, teacher’s guides, and posters, the program offers everything that educators need to teach these essential life skills.

“The videos are a great tool for our clientele - it is difficult to find situations to model issues that happen in your videos so it gives opportunities to talk and learn about issues relating to our clients deficits.”

Daniel Hohmann- Community Support Services

What You Will Learn

This program addresses four classes of difficult behaviors that students may encounter: Criticism, Teasing, Bullying, Anger/others, and Anger/Self.

Through video scenarios, the program teaches students how to respond appropriately when faced with intimidating or manipulative individuals. Students will learn how to navigate difficult situations by modeling three different responses: HOT (blowing up), COLD (giving up), and COOL (being in control).

The program emphasizes the positive outcomes of the “being in control” response while contrasting them with the negative consequences of the other two responses.

The program also uses icons to symbolize COLD, HOT, and COOL responses, helping students to remember and apply what they have learned.

BeCool teaches self-control in managing conflicts that arise in everyday situations, like sharing, keeping promises, and handling frustration. With over 20 specific assertive techniques to cope with conflict, the BeCool program can produce tremendous stress, serious behavior problems, and destruction of self-esteem. Using the self-defense coping strategies presented in this program, your students can learn how to minimize the effects of conflicts that arise in everyday situations.

Another powerful tool that BeCool utilizes to empower students is peer Video Modeling. This technique has been shown to be highly effective in teaching students conflict management skills. Video Modeling involves using video demonstrations that show students what to do when confronted with difficult behaviors and then providing opportunities to practice those skills.

The BeCool Paradigm is research-based and proven to be effective in teaching students conflict management skills. Rather than just focusing on violence prevention, which often overlooks subtle or less obvious types of conflicts, the BeCool program emphasizes coping strategies applicable in everyday situations. The program equips students with a range of coping strategies, whether dealing with stressful situations at home or work after graduating.

Module 1: Teasing

Teasing is a tricky subject, especially among students who engage in it daily. The module aims to teach students how to differentiate between friendly teasing and hurtful teasing. It also gives them a variety of cool responses to deal with it. Your students will love this module because of its interactive nature and real-life scenarios.

Module 2: Anger

Anger is an emotion we all experience at some point in our lives. However, how we respond to that anger is what sets us apart. The module aims to teach students about the negative effects of hot or cold responses to anger. It uses age-appropriate vignettes to show the different outcomes of each response.

Module 3: Criticism

Criticism is something we all have to deal with in our lives, but not everyone knows how to cope with it. The module aims to teach students about the negative consequences of responding to criticism in passive or aggressive ways. It also provides them with techniques for coping in a cool way.

Module 4: Bullying

Bullying is a prevalent issue in schools, and sometimes students do not understand why people bully others. The module aims to teach students a new perspective on bullying and why people do it. It also teaches them to recognize dangerous bullies and how to deal with them appropriately.

“I used your program while working on a very high behavioral unit. I found that your program worked really well. I also gave individuals a choice that equaled the same thing so they would feel like they had control. In 2 years I saw quite a few people become ready to live in group homes, Now that I work within an inner city structure I hope to have similar results”

Deborah Bareika, Counselor, Portsmouth, VA

After Completion

If you’re looking for a program that delivers an education that is tailored to your student’s needs, one that provides a safe and nurturing environment, and produces competitive and successful graduates, the BeCool High School program is the perfect fit. Every student leaves better than they came in.

Students who complete this program demonstrate qualities of grit, determination, confidence, and ethical behavior. They know how to resolve conflicts in a way that not only reduces problematic behaviors, but also reduces the likelihood of similar conflicts arising again.

Our approach to learning is not just about academic performance – but also about developing a well-rounded student that can succeed in life – that is our promise to you. Sign up for BeCool High School, and be a part of the success story. You owe it to your students to teach them the skills they need to manage teasing, bullying, and other conflicts with ease!

“The BeCool program was extremely effective with my constituents who have intellectual disabilities. I repeated the series three times and by the end they had a thorough grasp of the concepts.“

Deann Canuteson, HI