At Rowley school, a recipe for learning

"It's really good," said Hailey Brown, 16, stirring rice. "I love helping to cook."

Cooking and other chores are part of learning at Solstice, a special-education program run by Health & Education Services Inc. of Beverly. Everyone has to pitch in to clean the house before their family shows up for the monthly dinner. "This is their night," said Kelly Ross, the food service director, who was preparing the dinner. "It's important that they connect family and school."

Most of the 25 students attending Solstice were placed by their home school districts that can't meet their needs. There are beds for 13 kids in a home on the five-acre property in a rural corner of town.

"I have the best room," said Hailey, an eighth-grader, who came 18 months ago. "I love it here. It really doesn't feel like school. It feels like home."

Her mom likes Solstice, too.

"Solstice has done wonders for Hailey," said Elyse Brown, Hailey's mother. "It's a very supportive place. The buildings might not be great, but the program is."

Teachers and therapists work with students in small settings. School runs for 250 days per year, compared with 180 in a public school. Academics and life skills, such as cooking dinner, blend together.

"We have a great bunch of kids," said Patricia Marcel, the education director. "We're trying now to invest in their learning."

It is not an easy task, however.

Yellow paint hides red brick in the school basement. Armboard desks are tight for a big guy like Max Tewksbury. "The desk is small for people like me," said Tewksbury, who at age 15 stands 6 feet 5 inches tall and has the build of a football player.

Old furniture needs to be replaced, wooden floors refurbished, and windows replaced. "I think our tables are 30 years old," said Ross, who has worked at Solstice for 27 years. "It would be nice if we could make the environment a little warmer."

A $25,000 grant from the Van Otterloo Family Foundation of Marblehead was used to buy new software and computers. But the old school must still be rewired for the new technology. "It's going to be a wonderful asset for us," Marcel said. "We can't wait to get them all going."

Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com.