Meet Janette Cochran
Services for special learners
Janette Cochran has served as Holland Public Schools Director of Student Services since the 2004-2005 school year.
About 13 percent of the district’s student population receives special education services. Cochran coordinates 80 staff members who accommodate those special learning needs. Forty-five instructional assistants fortify the efforts of special education teachers, psychologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists and nurses.
Like neighboring school systems, Holland Public Schools is experiencing a marked increase in the number of students with autism spectrum disorder. Most of these students can be mainstreamed into general education classes with some modifications. Holland established its first self-contained classrooms for autistic students with more pronounced needs four years ago at West. Cochran expects that program will expand to Holland High as current students age.
Teamwork
Open communication between parents and teachers is essential to developing an individual educational plan for students with special needs, Cochran said.
“Parents need to call the school if something is not the way they want it so we can talk about it,” Cochran said. “Teachers want to reach the child in the best way possible. Feedback helps them know whether to adjust their strategy or remediate.”
Cochran also facilitates the legal process associated with recommendations to suspend a student long term, or to expel him or her from district schools. Unfortunately, disciplinary proceedings are typically necessary 10 to 20 times per year, she said. Although this aspect of her job is not fun, Cochran said she’s glad she can be a liaison for parents and help them understand their rights.
A very special career
Cochran grew up near Cincinnati and married her high school sweetheart, Mike, after her junior year at Miami University.
By high school she wanted to be a physician, but her parents -- like most in the late 1960s -- believed advanced education would be a waste for a married woman who wanted a family. So Cochran earned a bachelor’s degree in education, an accepted occupation for women.
Unlike many young teachers, Cochran enjoyed teaching special education so much that she was reluctant to hop off the career track. She took only one five-year hiatus when she and Mike’s three children were very young. She earned a master’s degree in learning disabilities from Calvin College, and obtained certification to be a special education supervisor from Saginaw Valley State University.
The Cochrans moved from Cincinnati to Holland in 1987 when Mike accepted a position with Thermotron. Janette taught special education at Holland Junior High, which became West Middle School. She became West’s assistant principal in 2000, and was promoted the following year to principal, a post she held for three years until asked to become student services director.
Cochran says her favorite past-time is doting on she and Mike’s eight grandsons and one granddaughter. She is also a voracious reader, especially of mystery novels.
Her office is housed at Holland Early Childhood Center at Maplewood, where grandson Jack is a preschooler.
Contact Cochran by calling 494-2100.
