Catherine Cook’s warm and inclusive community is a place where students are truly known, loved, and appreciated as unique individuals. Our whole-child approach ensures students are not only academically prepared for the future, but that they also have the social-emotional skills to be confident and compassionate leaders. 

Guided by student inquiry, students achieve academic excellence as they explore our world through the lens of their own curiosity. Our incredible teachers encourage students to have an innovator’s mindset and support them as they navigate big ideas, think critically, embrace challenges, and learn from their mistakes. 

At Cook, social-emotional learning is foundational to who we are. We believe that students are most successful when they truly know and understand themselves and others and embrace what makes us each unique. By fostering this approach in and out of the classroom, students develop empathy, collaborate more effectively, and show incredible leadership skills from an early age.

We are a community that strongly values relationships and connection. Our nurturing faculty and staff work closely with families to ensure students are supported and successful in their learning. And with so many opportunities to get involved through volunteering, parent/guardian education, and social events, families also form deep connections with one another, creating friendships that last far beyond their time at Cook.  

All of this adds up to highly prepared graduates who are confident in their abilities and ready to take on the best high schools around Chicagoland and across the country. In fact, 100% of the Class of 2024 was accepted into at least one of their top three high school choices. Cook regularly receives praise from high schools regarding the academic strength and excellent character of our alumni.