Part 7: Fond Farewell — Sometimes Students Leave and That’s The Goal

Former student Jimmy Harrington sat in an empty CCC classroom doodling tiny characters on small squares of paper — some ripped from video games, like Angry Birds and Plants Vs. Zombies — others of his own creation. (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives)

OSTERVILLE — A special education collaborative’s primary role is to prepare pupils to leave the collaborative.

Two former students, Jimmy Harrington and Noah Brown, each presented extraordinary challenges to the educators at the Cape Cod Collaborative (CCC) in Osterville.

Through staff ingenuity and compassion, both boys made fierce advancements and eventually outgrew their need for specialized collaborative instruction.

Now Noah’s starting third grade at his neighborhood school, and Jimmy’s a freshman at Bristol Community College (BCC).

Jimmy’s Return

On a recent visit back to the CCC, Jimmy Harrington, now 19, approached the receptionist’s desk at the building entrance.

“Hello, I’m Jimmy, the Legend of the Cape Cod Collaborative,” he told her, a confident alumnus proudly returning to his elementary alma mater.

Jimmy attended the school for nearly a decade and forged a fierce reputation.

“They turned me from a demon child to a saint,” Jimmy said.

His parents laughed and challenged him.

“I don’t know about a demon or a saint,” said his mother, Melissa.

“You provided us with a lot of challenges,” said Julia Bryant, CCC S.T.A.R. Program Director, as she entered the lobby. “And we learned a lot from each other.”

S.T.A.R. is the CCC program that specializes in working with students with challenging behavioral issues.

Daily Challenges

The faculty and staff at the CCC deal with behavioral challenges every day — that’s their specialty. They deal with daily challenges, work toward avoiding future challenges, and aim to prepare many of their students to transition back to their home public school districts.

“When a student has a behavior, we process with them about the incident,” said Director Bryant. “What happened? What were you feeling? What responsibility did you have in the situation? What could you do differently next time?”

There were early signs Jimmy’s childhood path would be bumpy. He’s been reading and writing since he was three years old. Around that same time, he also started spitting, hitting and biting.

“When Jimmy was four months old he was diagnosed with infantile spasms, which is a seizure disorder,” his mother recalled. “Because of this diagnosis, he received early intervention services. When he was around age 2 it was recommended that he be evaluated for delays. He was then diagnosed with autism and global developmental delay.”

At first, Jimmy was integrated into a typical preschool classroom. While early classroom integration may be the right approach for some children, it was a poor fit for Jimmy.

“Some students require such specialized instruction and programming that traditional public schools can’t provide that kind of support on their own,” said CCC Executive Director Dr. Hope Hanscom. “That’s why collaboratives are needed. We provide the programming that not all public schools can provide on their own.”

His Young Parallel

As Jimmy prepared for his first year at BCC, an outgoing second-grader at the CCC challenged the educators there with some of Jimmy’s same high-incidence behaviors.

Noah Brown started acting out in kindergarten.

He would often strip naked, defecate on the floor and toss it at teachers and staff.

“He was like a wild animal locked in a classroom,” said his mother, Brittany Brown. “He had constant outbursts and serious anger issues. He’d break things and rip faucets off sinks.”

Noah was diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder.

Both Jimmy and Noah eventually regained control, but it wasn’t easy. They channeled their emotions, learned to express themselves through artwork, and benefited from the expertise of dedicated CCC educators.

“With every student we try to figure out what the child’s ‘currency’ is that they will want to earn for demonstrating appropriate behaviors and completing academics,” Director Bryant said. “The other side of the coin is being very consistent with the consequences. You hope to not have to use the consequences, but you are trying to teach new skills to replace the behaviors and that can take time.”

Jimmy the Kid

All staff in the S.T.A.R. Program are specially trained to conduct safe and appropriate restraints, which was especially important while dealing with Jimmy.

Director Bryant recalled a time when Jimmy had to be restrained as often as 30 times in a single school day.

Then one day, she was personally restraining Jimmy. To an observer, this might look like a giant bear hug, but the proven technique prevented Jimmy from harming himself or others. At first, he was furious, until finally, he just smiled and relaxed.

“I’d like to see you do that now,” Jimmy said, grinning, having grown broad and tall.

Praise and Parades

Collaborative staff sometimes had trouble getting Jimmy packed up and ready to leave.

“For Jimmy, if he had a good day — completed work and displayed minimal inappropriate behavior — the staff would follow him out and create a parade — clapping, singing — ‘The Jimmy Parade,’” Director Bryant recalled. “On Fridays, if he had no timeouts all week, he would have ‘Chicken and Fryday,’ where we would order him chicken tenders and fries.”

And when Jimmy acted out, art helped to bring him back.

“For Jimmy it was helpful to get through this by allowing him to draw a cartoon about the incident instead of just a conversation,” said Director Bryant.

The staff would encourage Jimmy to draw while processing after making “unexpected choices.” They enlisted help from Jimmy’s favorite cartoon characters.

“When he was into Olaf from ‘Frozen’ we would have Olaf watch Jimmy complete his work because Jimmy didn’t want to ‘disappoint’ Olaf,” Director Bryant said. “When Jimmy made an unexpected choice and we would process with him, he would draw a cartoon of what happened and what he could do next time.”

After making significant strides, Jimmy left the collaborative as an eighth grader. He went on to earn his diploma from Old Rochester Regional High School. Now he’s off to higher education, and plans to study graphic design.

Next for Noah?

Noah also made incredible progress in just a few short years in the S.T.A.R Program.

“He’s grown so much as a kid since he started here,” Noah’s mother Brittany said. “He’s learned other ways to handle his emotions. He’s gone back to the sweet little man he used to be.”

Both Jimmy and Noah have a shared hobby in common. Drawing provides them both with a sense of comfort. In the CCC cafeteria, Noah proudly showed off some of his favorite drawings.

Director Bryant, and moms Brittany Brown and Melissa Harrington all agreed that they had to work together for real change to take root.

“You need to be on the same team,” Bryant explained. “There can be no secrets. We are very honest. Sometimes schools sugarcoat things. But that does not do anyone any favors. Only through difficult discussions can we find the solutions that truly make a difference.”

“These students present tremendous challenges and require just the right staff to work with them,” said Joanne Haley Sullivan, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives (MOEC). “Staffing is hard, but collaboratives do a great job finding and training the right people to make a real difference in these children’s lives.”

Jimmy the Student

“Jimmy was challenging,” Bryant recalled. “He did interesting things. He once stood in the toilet and tried to flush himself down … He once stripped naked and scooted across a bunch of tables. It was a game to him. But he was the only one enjoying it. There are so many ‘Jimmy stories.’ It’s like folklore around here.”

“I was a monster,” Jimmy said, half-joking.

Over time, Jimmy’s mother noticed significant changes for the better in her son.

“It was like the heavens opened,” she said.

“Finally, someone who understood me,” Jimmy added to the conversation, looking up from his drawing for just a moment.

“They saw the good and the loveliness inside of Jimmy,” said his mother. “They just got it.”

About the Cape Cod Collaborative 

The Cape Cod Collaborative, based in Osterville, provides a wide range of services to students, including special education programs for low incident, special needs populations; programs for the multi-handicapped; therapy and services for students requiring specialized support; and a full range of transportation services for both the special needs and general education population. The Cape Cod Collaborative also provides the STAR Program — a public day school supporting students, referred from their home districts, who require a structured program with high levels of support. The STAR Program currently supports students with varying needs: cognitive, communication, and behavioral (including autism spectrum disorder); as well as elementary-age students with social-emotional/behavioral disorders. The program strives to meet the individual needs of students, enabling them to reach their potential and aiding in their personal growth. For more information, visit the CCC’s website.

In 2025, the Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives (MOEC) is celebrating the 50th anniversary of special education with a series of feature stories that will help to tell the untold stories of collaboratives to help educate the public about what collaboratives do and how they have evolved to serve the needs of our most vulnerable students over the past five decades.

In 1975, Congress enacted the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) to ensure that all children with disabilities have access to a free and appropriate public education. Congress changed the name of the law to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), in a 1990 reauthorization — and IDEA was again reauthorized in 2004.

MOEC is the professional organization representing the Commonwealth’s educational collaboratives. Massachusetts Collaboratives are a statewide network of educational service agencies that work together with school districts and schools to implement direct educational services and programs to students and adults, develop programs and services to enhance school districts’ operating efficiency, and provide high-quality professional development and technical assistance.

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Now Noah Brown draws and paints as a release when he feels the frustration mounting. (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives)