Private Kindergarten / School in Chicago, IL

The Catherine Cook School, Chicago:
The Catherine Cook School is one of a few nonsectarian, nondenominational, nonprofit traditional independent schools located in downtown Chicago in the historic Old Town area providing preschool through eighth grade programs. The school serves Lincoln Park, Gold Coast, Lakeview, Wicker Park and surrounding neighborhoods. We are an inclusive learning community dedicated to inspiring personal excellence and educating children for life. We are a school where students thrive in small classes and enjoy a joyful approach to learning and community. Our academic program centers on age-appropriate experiential learning and independent thinking, augmented by rich opportunities in the arts, athletics and service learning.

The Catherine Cook School strives to prepare students to participate in the discoveries and challenges of the future with the foundations of wisdom and personal discipline. Our school is dedicated to cultivating the unique nature and potential of each student and is committed to building a school community enhanced by racial, cultural, and socio-economic diversity.

We provide a nurturing and caring environment enhanced by a low teacher-student ratio. We are interested in a personal learning approach that incorporates individual attention, hands-on experiential learning, and a challenging and well-rounded curriculum.

In the process of inspiring and educating children for life, we believe that students must learn how to think, to solve problems, to capitalize on strengths, to make good decisions and to become effective communicators. In preparing students to live comfortably in an ever-changing and diverse society, we wish to move students beyond tolerating people different from themselves to engaging all people as valuable members of a global society.

We make every effort to ensure the academic program we offer is of the highest quality. We go to great lengths to hire the best teachers, adopt the best curricula, to be open to change and to hold our school to the highest academic standards. A true willingness to listen and an engagement in professional reflection are indispensable components of our commitment to continual improvement, relevance and accountability.

- Early Childhood program
- Preschool program
- Kindergarten program
- Elementary School program
- Middle School program
- Extended Day program

Our curriculum prepares students for superb high school options, teaching language arts and social studies in a combined humanities program with math, laboratory science and world languages, complemented by art, music, physical education and public speaking. 

Our rigorous curriculum introduces world languages before first grade, builds mastery of fundamental skills and critical thinking, stimulates creativity in the visual and performing arts, and uses the best of instructional technology to expand the possibilities of learning.

At Catherine Cook, we understand that each student is a uniquely developing social, physical, and intellectual young person. Our average pupil/teacher ratio of 10:1 enables us to spend individual time with each child, discover core strengths, and cultivate curiosity. Blending traditional learning approaches with successful developmental research and practice, we deliver a well-rounded, challenging curriculum that emphasizes hands-on learning activities. And because we believe that education is far more than the acquisition of knowledge, our 360° approach ensures that students are prepared for future success by learning how to think, to solve problems, to capitalize on strengths, to make decisions and to communicate effectively.

To live as global citizens, Catherine Cook students learn to appreciate the opinions of others, to understand a diverse array of cultures and heritages, and to give back to their communities through an ethic of service and responsibility. Throughout the process, parents are invited to be our partners in education, working cooperatively with faculty to enhance the learning experience as each student strives for personal excellence.

Educational technology at its best is an indispensable tool to a 360° education. The Catherine Cook School has invested deeply in innovative uses of the most current technology, blending hardware and software with a firm grounding in sound pedagogy. Today’s students are digital natives, and our approach to education reflects the realities and needs of living in a computer-linked global society.

For our youngest students, up to grade three, two new mobile laptop carts provide the primary workspace for technology-aided instruction. A full-time technology teacher assists classroom teachers to develop curriculum and use the wealth of electronic materials available to supplement classroom learning. Additionally, several Lower School classrooms are equipped with desktop computer workstations to aid in-class instruction.