Cougar

One month into the school year, we are beginning to see the power of routines. Students are becoming more confident, classrooms are filled with meaningful learning, and friendships continue to grow.

Success is rarely the result of one extraordinary moment. More often, it comes from doing ordinary things consistently, such as arriving to school on time, reading every evening, asking questions, practicing kindness, and persevering through challenges. These daily habits become the building blocks of lifelong success.

At Cooke Magnet, we know that champions aren't perfect; they simply continue learning, improving, and refusing to give up.

Thank you for partnering with us to reinforce these habits at home. Together, we are helping every child move farther down the Road to Greatness.

• September 22 - Kinder Fieldtrip to Krolls 9:30-10:45am

• September 23 - House Spirit Day/Early Release 1:03 pm

The Cooke Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) leads the implementation of the School Improvement Plan and works collaboratively to strengthen teaching and learning across the school. The ILT monitors instructional practices and student achievement data, uses that information to identify areas for growth, and guides professional learning and support for staff.

Each year, the ILT establishes goals in collaboration with district administration that reflect the needs and priorities of Cooke Magnet School. For the 2026–2027 school year, our goals focus on three key areas: Literacy, Math, and School Culture.

2026–2027 School Improvement Goals

📚 Literacy

By June 2027, Cooke Magnet School will:

• Increase K–2 literacy performance from 63% at MOY to 95% proficient or above, as measured by the DIBELS composite score.

• Increase K–2 literacy performance from 85% at MOY to 95% proficient or above, as measured by the Lectura composite score.

• Increase grades 3–5 literacy performance from 58.9% to 63% proficient, as measured by the IAR Literacy assessment.

• Strengthen Tier 1 literacy curriculum implementation, with teachers demonstrating “full implementation” or higher on the SchoolMint classroom visit rubric at least 80% of the time and achieving 60% mastery or higher on curriculum-embedded assessments.

• Increase the EL exit rate from 11.1% (14 students) to 14%, as measured by ACCESS.

• Increase average EL scale-score growth from 25.61 to 28.61, as measured by ACCESS.

➗ Math

By June 2027, Cooke Magnet School will:

• Increase K–2 math performance from 71% at MOY to 81% proficient or above, as measured by the mClass Math composite score.

• Increase grades 3–5 math performance from 46.3% to 51% proficient, as measured by the IAR Math assessment.

• Strengthen Tier 1 math curriculum implementation, with teachers earning a score of 3 or higher on the GrowLevel classroom visit form norming report in the area of Evidence-Based Numeracy Instruction.

🤝 School Culture

By June 2027, Cooke Magnet School will:

• Improve PBIS implementation, increasing the Tier 1 TFI score from 46% to 60%.

• Decrease chronic absenteeism from 8% to 6%.

• Strengthen students’ sense of connection to the school community, increasing the Panorama Sense of Belonging metric from 61% (BOY 2025–2026) to 75% (EOY 2026–2027).

• Strengthen student–teacher trust, increasing the Student/Teacher Trust measure on the 5Essentials survey from neutral to strong.

Wednesday is another opportunity to earn house points!

Cooke houses, Altruismo and Isibindi, sponsored a beach clean up event at the Municipal Beach in Waukegan on Saturday, September 12th. Families came out and helped prevent the plastic and trash from ending up in Lake Michigan while showing off their house spirit.

The week of September 21 will be the first opportunity for student to purchase items using the PBIS points they have earned in Apptegy. These points were earned for being kind, safe, and responsible. Between Monday and Wednesday, students who would like to buy from the store can complete the Google Form that will be shared with them. Students who spend more than their earned points will not have their order filled. Students who do not spend their points, will not lose them, they will simply roll over until the next time the store opens. Prizes will be distributed to students on or before Monday, September 28.

It's natural to want to jump in and help the moment a child gets frustrated. But productive struggle, or working through a hard problem without immediate rescue, builds confidence, perseverance, and independence in ways that quick answers simply can't.

● Ask "What have you tried?" before offering a solution.

● Try "What could you do next?" to prompt their own thinking.

● Say "Show me your thinking" instead of giving the answer.

This doesn't mean leaving children to struggle alone. It means coaching instead of rescuing. Sit beside your child, stay calm even if they get frustrated, and resist the urge to take over the pencil. Your steady presence matters more than a quick fix.

Children who learn to push through frustration develop stronger problem-solving habits and greater confidence in their own ability to figure things out... a skill that will serve them well beyond any single homework assignment.

Here our our stats for Week Four:

School-Wide Attendance: 95,61%

School Goal: 95%

Grade-Level Champions

● Kindergarten: 94.38%

● Grade 1: 95.07%

● Grade 2: 94.66%

● Grade 3: 97.38% - FIRST PLACE - Second Week in a Row

● Grade 4: 95.53%

● Grade 5: 96.72%

Just a reminder that students with 95% attendance or higher will be invited to an end of year celebration.

October 6 - PTO Meeting 5:00 - 6:00

October 9 - Picture Day

October 12 - No School

October 14 - House Spirit Day/Early Release @ 1:03

October 21-22 - Conferences in PM

October 22 - Second Grade Swim Smart fieldtrip 9:45am - 11:45am

October 23 - No School

October 28 - House Spirit Day/Early Release @ 1:03

October 30 - Fall Parties and Parade