MONROE, Wash. — School has never been easy for Kyle Cook.
Diagnosed with autism at just 18 months old, he's largely non-verbal.
Cook's parents worried how much he'd ever be able to learn.
"He was definitely a challenging kid for the school district, and for the teachers," said Renee Cook, his mother
For much of his life, Kyle Cook was separated from other students and left to learn with other special needs kids, but that learning was extremely limited.
"It's kind of like they were trapped," said Matt Chalfant, Monroe High School math teacher. "We were predetermining where these kids were gonna go with their futures."
But last year, Chalfant brought Kyle Cook into his mainstream algebra class.
Before long, with the help of a classroom assistant, Kyle Cook was at the very top.
"I got an A in algebra last year," Kyle Cook said.
When asked how that makes him feel, Kyle Cook responded, "Great!"
"These kids are fully flourishing under the new system," Chalfant said. "With the old system kids would become stagnant. The thinking was, if you're learning at a third-grade level, we'll teach you at a third-grade level. We wouldn't see growth. "
It's all part of a bigger plan by the Monroe School District to fully integrate special needs students into mainstream classes.
"We've got to get better," Chalfant said.
To that end, Monroe High is now one of just three schools serving as models to others across the state and showing how to best educate kids like Kyle Cook.
He ended up as a mentor in his math class. He even gives detailed presentations about the state ferry system.
It's a feeling Kyle Cook sums up with one word.
"Happy," he said.
"To have a school district that is backing him and giving him the support to do general education classes so he can have a real life, that's amazing," Renee Cook said.
Kyle Cook said he now hopes to go to college and study technology, like his father and brother.
When asked if he is proud of himself, Kyle Cook uttered a simple, "Yes."