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[quote=Anonymous]I have a 4-year-old daughter at H.D. Cooke, which is in Ward 1, at 17th and Columbia Road. We are very happy with the school.

- Cooke uses the IB primary years program, which is based on units of inquiry and focuses on the whole child, their environment, etc. Each unit of inquiry is tailored to the age of the students, so the way they study "community" in PK is different than the way they study it in 5th grade.

- DD's class has 20 students, one primary teacher and an aide. All the early childhood classes have a Spanish-speaking aide, which is helpful in a school that has a majority Spanish-speaking population.

- Cooke has full time specials teachers: art, music, 2 P.E. teachers, Spanish, librarian and 4 guidance counselor types (social workers, psychologists, etc.).

- The building was fully renovated in 2009 and is gorgeous. There are a lot of skylights and windows, so almost no part of the school feels dark or gloomy. We have a kitchen on site, and the food is prepared there, rather than being served in single-serving trays. Early childhood students eat breakfast and lunch family style in their classrooms.

- We have 2 playgrounds, one for kids aged 2-5 and one for kids aged 5-12. They are new with the building renovation, gated and well maintained. Over the summer, there was some broken equipment but the school worked to get it repaired. We also have a community garden that is maintained by the students, staff and community as well as an outside organization during aftercare. They were literally some of the best cherry tomatoes I've ever eaten in my life. We are also about to start a composting program.

- It must be said that the test scores are not good. The administration, who are almost all new this year, have a lot of ideas about how to improve test scores. We are all a little apprehensive about the PARCC implementation this year, because the test itself is different than students have experienced before. I am concerned about technological literacy as well as reading and math proficiency. My daughter will not be taking these assessments for several years, but I plan to volunteer this spring to help students prepare for the test if possible.

- Our PTO is fairly active and large this year, as compared to years past (it's my first year). I attribute the expansion of membership and high attendance to people generally being excited about the new principal and the change in school culture that many have seen.

Not everyone is happy all the time. It's not perfect. What I know is that my daughter is happy going to school. She has bonded with her teachers (including the specials teachers) and made a lot of great friends. All the kids are friendly to me when I am at the school. The teachers are dedicated, professional and passionate about their school. They also all seem to genuinely like each other.

Happy to answer any questions and would also encourage you to visit us at an open house if we're remotely convenient for you! Our next open house is January 15th at 6pm.[/quote]

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