The Bear Cave

The Bear Cave Transition Program located in the heart of Hawthorne in Passaic County began in September 2017.  It is the first “off campus” transition program of its kind in Passaic County.  The Bear Cave is funded by the Hawthorne Public School District and serves both in and out of district students from surrounding communities.

The Bear Cave serves students aged 18-21 with the goal to develop skills using community based instruction to ensure a successful transition from school to adulthood. One of the great advantages of having an off campus transition house is that the students have seamless access to their community and are not bound to a school’s bell schedule. Learning the skills necessary to navigate the community occurs organically in the community with minimal interruption. Instead of being recreated in a classroom, real life problems are solved in an authentic setting. Some examples of this include weekly food shopping, travel training, weekly visits to Retro Fitness, regular banking at Columbia Savings, and Work Based Learning (WBL) in community businesses four afternoons per week. In some cases, students have been paid for their WBL experiences.