If you visit Community School’s website, you will see a video featuring the smiling faces and happy voices of students, parents and staff welcoming new head of school ‘Mr. Cooke.’ Most are wearing Cardinals gear, a gentle taunt to the loyal Dodgers fan who just moved here from Los Angeles. The school’s warm, friendly faces were an immediate draw for Bob Cooke when he first visited, he says, along with a 16-acre campus that invites exploration and the school’s focus on interaction in the classroom and beyond.
Cooke, who started his post in July, received a master’s in education from Claremont Graduate University in California and a bachelor’s degree in history from Carleton College in Minnesota. His background in education spans more than 30 years (23 spent at independent schools) and many different levels, ranging from classroom teacher to middle school director and, most recently, upper school director at Brentwood School in Los Angeles. “This is my first role as head of school, a position I’ve wanted to take on for a couple of years now,” he says. “My wife and I hoped to move back to the Midwest, and I really wanted to work with younger kids. My main concern was finding a school where students are engaged in their education, not just sitting and receiving information.”
For those reasons and others, Community School is a perfect fit, he says. Divided into a lower division for nursery through second grade and an upper division for third through sixth grade, the curriculum focuses on individualized instruction, with two lead teachers in every classroom. “Teachers really get to know the students’ strengths and weaknesses and can tailor their education for them,” Cooke explains. “In our recent transition meetings, teachers shared what they discovered about each student with the teachers who will have them in the upcoming year. It was so clear how well they know the students, and not just their academic strengths, but also their social and emotional lives. It’s a place that does an extraordinary job of meeting kids where they are and taking them further.”
Cooke also applauds the school’s mission of learning outside the classroom and offering more than the usual subjects. “Every kid takes music class, drama and foreign language,” he says. “There is something for everyone. If a child is not a strong reader but loves creating things, we have woodshop. There are lots of different ways to engage kids in learning. Our students are always thrilled to come back to school.”
He notes the large, wooded campus with a pond and butterfly garden is more than just a pretty setting; students are always out exploring, measuring things for math class or catching tadpoles for science projects. “When the school was founded 100 years ago, there was this idea of not only living with nature and using it, but nurturing it as well. Students shouldn’t just be memorizing information, but instead truly involved and engaged,” Cooke says. A faculty sustainability committee embraces the school’s location and works on everything from recycling to gardening. “Kids at this age are very interested in the world around them,” Cooke notes. “They want to correct injustice and do the right thing. It’s neat we can help them with that.”
Cooke is excited about the new school year, including recent remodels to the gym and science classrooms. “We also reconstructed the curriculum to devote more time to science, especially for fourth through sixth grades,” he says. “The school has beautiful facilities and is just a tremendous place. I still pinch myself that I managed to end up here. I can’t believe I’m getting paid to do this!”
Pictured: New head of School Bob Cooke visits with fourth graders
Photo: Mike Speckhard
[Community School, located on a 16-acre wooded campus at 900 Lay Road, offers individualized instruction for children in preschool through sixth grade through hands-on learning and exploration. For more information, call 314.991-0005 or visit communityschool.com.]