Dear Cooke Community,

We are writing to update you on the status of our exciting building project, Cooke’s state-of-the-art school on 114^th Street and Madison Avenue, which will house our K through 12^th grade students. We are extremely grateful to have the opportunity to improve our facilities and programming by constructing a new school building specifically designed to be inclusive of all Cooke students’ needs.

In March, we held a groundbreaking ceremony at the building site. In addition to eight students from the Cooke Grammar School (who donned construction hard hats and shovels to officially christen the site), Cooke’s Head of School, Dr. Francis Tabone, members of the board and our design team, including architects, engineers, and real estate and finance partners, attended. Excitement filled the empty space that will soon house our new school building that has been designed, from top to bottom, to suit the learning needs of our students. As Francis said at the event, “We’ll be able to work in a space that is aligned with our mission and goals … we are building the space based on our kids’ needs.” It was a special day, and everyone there was excited to come together to begin the construction of a facility that is worthy of our groundbreaking program.

Those of you who joined us at the Food for Thought Gala in May got a little glimpse at some of the designs of the new educational spaces, including a new gymnasium/auditorium and a rooftop playground/garden. In the coming months, we’ll share more “inside” information, including photos, as the building takes shape. We anticipate construction will be completed in time for the September 2020 school opening.

If you have any questions, please contact us at: lookingtothefuture@cookeschool.org.

Best Regards,