Beverly Cox went to Baylor University and graduated with a degree in interior design. She did her internship and decided interior design was not for her. She tried working with her Dad in his brokerage business and was still not satisfied. Then she decided to get her teaching certificate in alternative education and now knows this is where her heart is. She now is the CBI (community based instruction) teacher at Stafford Elementary.

Beverly is no stranger to children with disabilities. Her brother is deaf and she saw his childhood struggles communicating with others and going to school, getting along in this world with a disability. Cox explained, “I want to help others. I want them to succeed despite their disabilities and behavior challenges.”

Cox went on to say, “The students that come in my classroom all have disabilities whether it is home life or a physical disability-something that is challenging them, preventing them from being the best that they can be. And to be a part of helping them learn to cope, to be a better student and help them succeed is what it is all about for me.”

The objective of the CBI class is to help the students get into the main stream education. So Beverly works with the students that have anger issues and teaches them better ways to cope with their anger and better ways of expressing themselves which will eventually lead them to success. She also works with students that just need a little extra push to succeed.

One of Cox’s students has been in her class going on three years and is doing so well he will be leaving her class and will be going into main stream eduction. Cox explained, “We have tried main streaming him before but it didn’t work out but now he is where he needs to be to function outside my class. I am really proud of him. I am going to miss him when he leaves.”

I asked what it takes to teach her students and Beverly replied, “Lots of patience, and lots of love. These students need a lot of positive reinforcement. They need a positive environment and that is what we try to give them.”

When asked if she would ever like to teach main stream education Cox said, “I have thought that maybe I would like to teach a younger grade in a normal environment but to be honest, I love being an advocate for these students. I love trying to help them and show them better ways to communicate and get along in life. They need someone to fight for them and I like being the one to do that for them. God has put me here to help these students. They are sweet kids. I will always be where I can help the students because that is where my heart is. Helping students with Autism and behavior management is where I will probably always be.”