H.D. Cooke...thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the school have a website? I'd like a bit more basic information about the school. (We'd be applying OOB.)

If you're applying OOB, you might want to consider Ross instead.

We probably will--but since we can apply for up to 6 OOB schools, I'd be interested in including Cooke on that list--depending on what I can learn about it. Anyone know the open house schedule?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1:50 poster here. What I'm looking for is info like: is there a PK program, or does it start at K? A 3-y-o program?

Cooke offers both preschool (pre-k(3)) and pre-k. The video mentioned above was of the preschool class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the school have a website? I'd like a bit more basic information about the school. (We'd be applying OOB.)

If you're applying OOB, you might want to consider Ross instead.

We probably will--but since we can apply for up to 6 OOB schools, I'd be interested in including Cooke on that list--depending on what I can learn about it. Anyone know the open house schedule?

Tomorrow (1/20), 9-11 AM

[Anonymous]

Anyone attend the open house this morning and have thoughts they'd be willing to share?

[Anonymous]

I went this morning. DD would be PS-3 in the fall. The principal was wonderful, warm witty and had a great attitude. The room was full of a very diverse group of parents of 3 and 4 year olds.

The school is beautiful. and clean. The PS teachers that we met seemed great. The classrooms are very well equipt. The PTA president seemed very involved and energetic. The kids we saw seems well behaved and engaged in learning.

I have gone to bed every night for months with a pit in my stomach as I contemplate how to play the the OOB and Charter lottery game. Today I feel almost giddy knowing that what had been my "safety school" (we are in-bounds for Cooke) looks like such a warm, healthy, positive environment for kids.

I'll probably still do lotteries for charters and other public schools, but at this point H.D. Cooke seems much more like a real option. And, I'd love to send my kid to a neighborhood school and avoid having to spend half my day driving across the part or across town.

Before you rule out H.D. Cooke, go to the next open house. Meet the principal. Meet the PTA leaders, meet the teachers. I think you'll be impressed.

[Anonymous]

We felt the same way -- big sigh of relief after the open house. We're also in-boundary, and Cooke (surprisingly, to us) looks like a really viable option.

[Anonymous]

We were there today and love the new facilities, principal, and teachers. We're out of bounds so not going to talk up the school too much because we don't want the competition

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A YouTube video of the PreSchool class performace at the recent H.D. Cooke Winter concert was posted recently on a community website. Obviously, you can't choose a school based on a 4 minute YouTube video of Jingle Bells sung by a bunch of 3 and 4 year olds, but what I saw was a bunch of really happy kids, involved parents, a teacher who was clearly loving the kids and having fun leading them in singing. ANd, the group was very diverse from a racial and ethnic stand-point. Know one should worry that their kid is going to be the "only" white, black or hispanic kid in the class.

Here's the link to the concert

[Anonymous]

Oops - clicked too soon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0dMU3OwqU4

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went this morning. DD would be PS-3 in the fall. The principal was wonderful, warm witty and had a great attitude. The room was full of a very diverse group of parents of 3 and 4 year olds.

The school is beautiful. and clean. The PS teachers that we met seemed great. The classrooms are very well equipt. The PTA president seemed very involved and energetic. The kids we saw seems well behaved and engaged in learning.

I have gone to bed every night for months with a pit in my stomach as I contemplate how to play the the OOB and Charter lottery game. Today I feel almost giddy knowing that what had been my "safety school" (we are in-bounds for Cooke) looks like such a warm, healthy, positive environment for kids.

I'll probably still do lotteries for charters and other public schools, but at this point H.D. Cooke seems much more like a real option. And, I'd love to send my kid to a neighborhood school and avoid having to spend half my day driving across the part or across town.

Before you rule out H.D. Cooke, go to the next open house. Meet the principal. Meet the PTA leaders, meet the teachers. I think you'll be impressed.

I'm very much in the same boat. I wasn't able to go yesterday's open house - I sent my husband - but he came back with a good report. I'm going to try to go to the Feb 11 open house to see for myself. Like you, I would love to be able to send my kids to the neighborhood school. I'm still going to put him on the lists for Cap City, Oyster and Ross, but I'm much less concerned about Cooke now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm very much in the same boat. I wasn't able to go yesterday's open house - I sent my husband - but he came back with a good report. I'm going to try to go to the Feb 11 open house to see for myself. Like you, I would love to be able to send my kids to the neighborhood school. I'm still going to put him on the lists for Cap City, Oyster and Ross, but I'm much less concerned about Cooke now.

We're in basically the same place -- we'd still go OOB for Spanish immersion at Oyster or, possibly, Bancroft, and we'd still go charter at Cap City, but we're within a mile of all those schools. For schools further away, Cooke has pushed the bar high enough that they'd need to be either really special (maybe Yu Ying, e.g.) or truly outstanding (Mann, maybe Lafayette, Hyde and/or Janney) for us to bother. A bunch of other schools that we quite liked (e.g., Murch, Hearst, Thomson, Two Rivers) have dropped off our list, at least for now. (We haven't yet toured Ross, but we'll be pretty surprised if it makes our new OOB cut after tourinng Cooke.)

Such a relief!

[Anonymous]

So glad to see so many neighbors had the same feeling. Hope to see you all at the first day of school in September. With a principal like Ms. Black, I think we really have a chance to make this a great neighborhood school.

[Anonymous]

We're talking about putting our little boy in Cooke's preschool this fall - he's in daycare now, but it sure is a big chunk of the old family budget. But here's my big worry - what do you do with a 3yo over the summer? Is the preschool year-round, or does DCPS offer all-day summer program for the preschool/pre-K set? I checked the DCPS website but it just says they'll post something later in the school year.

[Anonymous]

Hello Fellow Parents,

I have two preschoolers in H.D. Cooke and can confirm that it has been a wonderful experience for us. We have been very impressed with the teachers and (more importantly) the speed and enthusiasm with which our kids are acquiring new skills and knowledge. Principal Black is all that she seemed in the open house and more ... she is invested, concerned and involved. She knows every child by name and can link all the parents to their child. She will regularly pull me aside at morning drop off to discuss things going on in my kids classrooms and will ask my feedback on changes, unexpected developments, etc. The new building is amazing and the vibe across the classes and from the other teachers that work with my kids (gym, art, music) is incredibly positive. We did a lot of research before entering the kids into Cooke last year and have been doing alot of comparing notes with friends at Oyster, Capital City and other schools. I would definitely recommend to parents to consider H D Cooke as a serious option.

- Martina Ban ... Adams Morgan mother of three

[Anonymous]

Thank you, Martina! I'm the poster just before you - do you have any thoughts on the questions I asked about summer? I feel like if I can get that locked down then Cooke may move into my #1 slot...