H.D. Cooke Elementary

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[Post New]06/01/2009 14:13
Anonymous
bump
[Post New]06/16/2009 13:58
Anonymous
Ms. Black (principal of HD Cooke) says she has heard nothing about the plans to reduce funding for the IB program. As far as she knows it is on track.
[Post New]06/16/2009 22:26
Anonymous
I plan on sending my 3 year old this fall. I would love to meet more parents from the class. I am a bit nervous, but encouraged about what I have heard so far. You can reach me at jajuls@aol.com.
[Post New]01/27/2011 18:47
Anonymous
Does anyone know where Mrs. Randloph teaches? She was a teacher at cooke about ten years ago. What a great teacher she was. I forgot her first name, if anyone knows where she is.
[Post New]01/28/2011 10:05
Anonymous
There's an HD Cooke alumni group on facebook. You could ask there:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=102177203159765
[Post New]01/28/2011 11:59
Anonymous
Does anyone have details on this school? i.e. programs offered for PS & PK, money raised by PTA, safety, teachers, etc. I'm considering sending my 3 year old here but the next open house is in Feb. Not sure I want to wait that long for the out-of-boundary application. I know the school was recently remodeled but academically, how is it doing?
[Post New]01/28/2011 12:19
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have details on this school? i.e. programs offered for PS & PK, money raised by PTA, safety, teachers, etc. I'm considering sending my 3 year old here but the next open house is in Feb. Not sure I want to wait that long for the out-of-boundary application. I know the school was recently remodeled but academically, how is it doing?


According to greatschools, these are their scores:


Reading 21% (trend is up) Math is 26% (trend is no change). The state averages are 42% and 38% respectively (students performing at or above grade level). The retention rate is 96-100%, so those students are sticking around. No report on how much money the PTA raises, but 90% of students are FARMS (free and reduced price meals). Other demographic info: 43% AA, 1% Caucasian, 52% Hispanic, and 2% Asian. The pre-schoolers and pre-kindergarteners do homework, which I'm not a fan of at that age. OTOH, it's an attractive new building.
[Post New]01/28/2011 13:18
Anonymous
I'm a current parent at Cooke and would be happy to talk to you more about it, before the open house. We expect there will be a lot of people at that open house since it is closer to the application deadline.

The previous poster is correct on the scores. They are not great, or even good, by any stretch. The demographic information is out of date - I don't know exactly, except that the Caucasian percentage is 5%. The percentage of AA and Hispanic are nearly equal to each other, slightly higher Hispanic. The percentages in the early years are very different than the school as a whole (more balanced overall - many more Caucasian children).

This is the second year in the new building (previously they were in swing space by Howard U), and the PTA is very new. We need more volunteers, without a doubt. Fundraising efforts are in the early stages, with nowhere near the impact of other NW schools.

Cooke is an International Baccalaureate candidate school. They are hopeful they'll be approved. The curriculum is fabulous. Yes, most nights there is homework, but it is a simple worksheet or coloring activity that is usually fun. The teachers are fabulous and committed. The principal is amazing.

The building itself is great - I love it there, as does my DC. But, as with any school, it may not be for everyone. You have to understand and embrace pushing past your comfort zones, perhaps, in terms of interacting with other parents who are different than you. Honestly, I've come to see for kids, it's a great choice. They have a laser-like focus on your child, and your child will do well there. It may not be the best choice for the parent, depending on what the parent values.

There is a Cooke parents listserv on Yahoo you could seek out. The PTA president visits here so I'll let her decide if she wants to put her e-mail here. Good luck in your decisions.
[Post New]01/31/2011 12:46
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have details on this school? i.e. programs offered for PS & PK, money raised by PTA, safety, teachers, etc. I'm considering sending my 3 year old here but the next open house is in Feb. Not sure I want to wait that long for the out-of-boundary application. I know the school was recently remodeled but academically, how is it doing?


According to greatschools, these are their scores:


Reading 21% (trend is up) Math is 26% (trend is no change). The state averages are 42% and 38% respectively (students performing at or above grade level). The retention rate is 96-100%, so those students are sticking around. No report on how much money the PTA raises, but 90% of students are FARMS (free and reduced price meals). Other demographic info: 43% AA, 1% Caucasian, 52% Hispanic, and 2% Asian. The pre-schoolers and pre-kindergarteners do homework, which I'm not a fan of at that age. OTOH, it's an attractive new building.


My 3yo is in PS at Cooke, and he's never been assigned homework.

I've been very happy with Cooke. Ms. Black is a committed and enthusiastic educator. The PS teachers are young, engaged, friendly. The building is attractive, with a new playground. Perhaps we'll revisit our school choices once we hit kindergarten or above, but for now, my son is happy and I have no regrets.
[Post New]01/31/2011 12:58
Anonymous
How can you say that "your child will do well there" when 3 out of 4 of those children can't pass a scary simple reading exam?
[Post New]01/31/2011 13:38
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:How can you say that "your child will do well there" when 3 out of 4 of those children can't pass a scary simple reading exam?


Because the kids that are not passing the reading exam are 3rd-5th graders who are nearly all low-income AA and Hispanic children who are short changed by the system for years before they got tested. The test scores of those kids is very little reflection on the school as it is today.

As the PP noted, the demographic are now about 5 white at the school. All those white kids are in PS, PK and (maybe) K, so the diversity in those lower grade classrooms is much greater. Test scores for your white-middle class three year old when he/she gets to third grade will have nothing to do with the scores of the current 3rd graders. My child is not actually at Cooke, but I have heard from friends with kids there that the PS and PK teachers are wonderful and their kids are very happy. My friends have PhDs, and JDs and high powered jobs, they are not slackers about their kid's education.
[Post New]01/31/2011 15:11
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote: The pre-schoolers and pre-kindergarteners do homework, which I'm not a fan of at that age.


The pre-K kids do homework at HD Cooke, not the pre-schoolers. The homework comes on Mondays, and is due back on Thursdays. Usually it's three pages of letter identification (e.g., "color the pictures that start with the letter P"), two pages of counting exercises, and one page of cutting / pasting / artwork. It took my kid about 45 minutes to do the first set of homework back in September. Now it takes 15 minutes. The homework simply reinforces the school lessons, so I make it a priority to spend homework time with my kid on Monday night.
[Post New]01/31/2011 17:04
Anonymous
PTA President Libbie here: Ummm...the poster at 12:19 is pulling from the wrong lines, using just the 3rd grade data not overall data. Overall, the school scored 35% in reading in 2010, up 3 percentage points from 2009 (District average = 44%). The school scored 37% in math in 2010, down one percentage point from 2009 (District average = 43%). What is interesting is that their 3rd grade classes scored the worst (in the 20's for math and reading), and there's a huge jump up to the 5th grade (44% in reading and 59% in math), suggesting that Cooke is doing a good job with kids who are coming into 3rd grade way below grade level and pulling them up to grade level and beyond by 5th grade. Why can I make this assumption? check out the data: In 2008, the 3rd graders were at 21% for math. Two years later, those same kids are scoring at 59% in math. Since the 12:19 poster noted that the retention rate for students is high, that means the bulk of the kids are the same, and yet we are having a threefold success in two years.

I think the school does a fabulous job focusing on the kids. My kids are stimulated and excited, and love going to school. My less academically-focused child spent a long time yesterday explaining to me how an octopus avoids being eaten by shooting out ink, which he had learned in class and then had reinforced through the art projects they were doing in art class. The school really integrates learning across all spectrums, so that the art they're working on reflects the things they're learning in the classroom. I love that they have turned the front hallway into a little market, complete with a book display and price tags. The teachers do a fabulous job with differentiated learning in the classroom, and are extremely team-oriented. I recently saw a little boy who was overwhelmed during their PreK bake sale, and the teacher quietly sent him to another PreK classroom. When I peeked in there later, he was playing happily and had regained focus, all in a non-punitive manner.

If you are looking for a school that is incredibly PARENT-focused, with tons of notice for school events and extra parent coffees, you will not find it here. But, after two years in the school and a rising Preschool-3 child, I can say that we are happy there and it is working for us.

[Post New]02/01/2011 10:22
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:PTA President Libbie here: Ummm...the poster at 12:19 is pulling from the wrong lines, using just the 3rd grade data not overall data. Overall, the school scored 35% in reading in 2010, up 3 percentage points from 2009 (District average = 44%). The school scored 37% in math in 2010, down one percentage point from 2009 (District average = 43%). What is interesting is that their 3rd grade classes scored the worst (in the 20's for math and reading), and there's a huge jump up to the 5th grade (44% in reading and 59% in math), suggesting that Cooke is doing a good job with kids who are coming into 3rd grade way below grade level and pulling them up to grade level and beyond by 5th grade. Why can I make this assumption? check out the data: In 2008, the 3rd graders were at 21% for math. Two years later, those same kids are scoring at 59% in math. Since the 12:19 poster noted that the retention rate for students is high, that means the bulk of the kids are the same, and yet we are having a threefold success in two years.

I think the school does a fabulous job focusing on the kids. My kids are stimulated and excited, and love going to school. My less academically-focused child spent a long time yesterday explaining to me how an octopus avoids being eaten by shooting out ink, which he had learned in class and then had reinforced through the art projects they were doing in art class. The school really integrates learning across all spectrums, so that the art they're working on reflects the things they're learning in the classroom. I love that they have turned the front hallway into a little market, complete with a book display and price tags. The teachers do a fabulous job with differentiated learning in the classroom, and are extremely team-oriented. I recently saw a little boy who was overwhelmed during their PreK bake sale, and the teacher quietly sent him to another PreK classroom. When I peeked in there later, he was playing happily and had regained focus, all in a non-punitive manner.

If you are looking for a school that is incredibly PARENT-focused, with tons of notice for school events and extra parent coffees, you will not find it here. But, after two years in the school and a rising Preschool-3 child, I can say that we are happy there and it is working for us.





Thanks Libbie. It is nice to get perspective from someone actually at the school.
[Post New]02/18/2011 12:48
sybersus
Member Offline
All of this information is really helpful. I heard that Cooke has begun its IB program. I've heard of htis before for high schools, but not in the elementary school context -- what exactly does that mean? Thanks!
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