We’re All Moved In!

It’s non-stop action here at Cooke! The 2021-22 school year wrapped up with tons of exciting events. We celebrated prom and graduations, and now we can add a successful move to the list.

In 2021, Cooke’s leadership decided to keep K-5 students at 219 Stanton Street (with grades 6-12 at 1713 Madison Ave) to allow for social distancing during the pandemic. This plan enabled Cooke to take ample safety precautions that helped to keep our students and faculty safe and healthy.

The time has now come for our K-5 students to integrate into one location! This week, we moved those classrooms from 219 Stanton to our new building at 1713 Madison Avenue. For the Fall 2022 school year, all lower and middle school students will call 1713 their new school home!

It has long been Cooke’s dream to have a facility that accommodates our K-12 students. We couldn’t be more thrilled to all be under one roof, so our students can learn together, play together and make memories, TOGETHER!

Cooke Summer Academy

Cooke’s Summer Academy is about to be in full swing. Summer Academy will host over 200 Cooke students, providing fun and engaging experiences that will help them build relationships and prevent learning loss over the summer.

Our rooftop and other open spaces will be transformed with water play areas, obstacle courses, and group gatherings for athletics and play. Students will participate in small group, multi-sensory, thematic-based learning environments with integrated related services.

Community inclusion opportunities are integrated into the weekly schedule and complement academic themes. Students have ample opportunity to enjoy outdoor spaces to maximize their sense of exploration and hands-on learning.

Digital Skills and Digital Arts at Cooke

Cooke School programming continues to evolve and grow through new educational projects, some of which are in collaboration with foundation partners like the Moody’s Foundation and the Taft Foundation.

Two recent grants are supporting the development of digital skills curriculum and teaching. Moody’s has partnered with us to develop our Digital Skills for the Workplace Program, a 4-year initiative that teaches technology and job readiness skills to high school and Transitions students. We have completed Year 2 of the project—Years 3 and 4 will take place at Transitions over the next two years. Students learn technical skills such as using Google productivity apps (Docs, Sheets, and Slides).

In addition to annual funding for personnel and curriculum development, Moody’s long-standing support has been instrumental in providing the resources needed to develop Cooke’s vocational services and internship programming.

On the digital arts front, the Taft Foundation has provided funding to support a developing digital arts program at Transitions. In its first year, Transitions hired a new digital arts teacher who developed a specialized curriculum and taught lessons in design principles (scale, proportion), elements of art (line, shape, color, texture) and integrated arts projects (illustrated Google Maps). Students also created illustrations using Photoshop and the Apple iPad app Procreate.

Digital skills are essential for helping students utilize current technology, access new learning, develop more independence and seek new vocational opportunities. We are grateful to Moody’s and Taft for their ongoing commitment to Cooke students; their support will positively impact learning for years to come.

Celebrations and Acknowledgements: Pride & Juneteenth

As a school that is deeply committed to inclusion, Cooke proudly celebrates important milestones and events that reinforce the spirit of individuality, while fostering community connections and belonging.

In June, classrooms celebrated Pride month through a variety of activities, integrating arts and humanities to understand its significance. We actively reference literature that captures and illustrates diverse human experiences and brings forth rich conversations amongst our students and teachers.

We also commemorated Juneteenth, a holiday that signifies the emancipation of African American slaves in 1865. We celebrate and respect this holiday, and hold space during the month of June for families to gather and remember ancestors, history and culture.

Check out some of the Pride titles that were discussed this month: