The Cooke Family And Hanahauoli School:
100 Years And Looking Forward

Founded in 1918, Hanahauoli School is a 100-year-old testament to the American progressive education movement. Established by Sophie and George Cooke, the daughter-in-law and third son of Charles Montague and Anna Rice Cooke, Hanahauoli started out as an experiment in John Dewey’s “controversial new philosophy of education” (Palmer, 1968, p. 1). It represented a radical departure from more traditional approaches to schooling. The name Hanahauoli, which translates as “joyful work,” was bestowed by Sophie’s brother, Henry. In her memoir, Sophie Cooke explains the genesis of this institution:

I attended a series of lectures for mothers on ‘Literature for Children,’ given at Washington Place by Mrs. Goodrun Thorne-Thomsen from the Francis Parker School in Chicago. These talks were fascinating to me, and I was happy to meet Mrs. Thorne-Thomsen and got to know her quite well. I discussed my particular situation as to my children’s education with her and she suggested that I start a little school of my own and invite other children to join. This idea appealed to me, so we moved the home next door to us on Makiki Heights, which we had recently bought, down to an empty lot on Makiki and Nehoa Streets which belonged to Charles M. Cooke, Ltd … Hanahauoli started with fifteen children … Carolene and Charley Cooke … and our Dora and Paul [Cooke] … Our school was ‘progressive’ in every sense of the word. We tried new methods and broke with the stilted formal type of instruction which was common at that time … we persisted, and I note that many of the methods — of correlating the work and ‘learning by doing’ — have been widely adopted in the public schools. Our crowning event was when Dr. John Dewey, who had advocated this theory of teaching, and Mrs. Dewey, came to visit our school and gave us the ‘green light.’ This gratified us! (Cooke, 1964, pp. 78-79)

Since Dewey’s “green light,” many generations of Cookes and children of Hawaii have attended Hanahauoli School, which to this day, continues to carry on the vision of Dewey and other progressive educators who dedicated their lives to making “a child’s school life more meaningful.” (Palmer, 1968, p. 1)

Initially, the finances to start the school were borrowed by George and Sophie Cooke from Bank of Hawaii. This helped to pay for the teachers’ salaries, many of whom were recruited from other progressive schools that were being started around the same time in Chicago and New York. By the school’s second year it grew to accommodate 26 children, and about 62 in the third year. Today, Hanahauoli School goes from junior kindergarten through sixth grade and has an enrollment of about 210, with a faculty and staff of 40.

Unique to the school are many of Hanahauoli’s long-held traditions, most of which originate from the earliest days of the school.

Deeply grounded in Sophie and George Cooke’s early vision, the school and its many traditions have grown and evolved over the years, and in many ways, remained the same. Above all it has remained committed to Sophie’s original belief that the most “valuable thing in life is to develop a child’s initiative.” (Cooke, 1964, pp. 78-79)

Since its inception, Hanahauoli has emerged as one of the preeminent independent elementary schools in Hawaii (if not globally) because of its adherence to its early progressive mission, which places a great emphasis on validating childhood; real-world teaching and learning; and the idea that the school itself should be a cooperative society that embodies ideal democratic living. With that said, recognition over time has not come without criticism, as many in the community were initially skeptical of Hanahauoli’s forward thinking curriculum and innovative approaches to teaching and learning. In her book about Hanahauoli School, Louisa F. Palmer, a former head of the school, writes:

To break with tradition has always been a difficult thing to explain. Words have many different meanings to people. To label work at this new school in 1918 as ‘ joyous work’ immediately meant only play to many, as well as the lowering of academic standards. And when phrases like self-expression, creative work, and freedom were added, this immediately was translated by the school’s critics as ‘children doing as they please, no discipline, etc.’ The idea was not yet accepted that school work utilizing a child’s real interests and abilities gave him the motive power to do his best. Few could conceive that a child’s school should be, not a thing apart, but a vital element of youth and growth — ‘a process of living and not simply a preparation for future living’ — as Dr. Dewey expressed it in My Pedagogic Creed. (Palmer, 1968, p. 15)

Now in the school’s one-hundredth year, the Centennial marks an important milestone, and a timely one for the Hanahauoli School community to celebrate its prescient origins, reflect on areas of growth, and look forward to imagine what progressive education will look like at Hanahauoli School in the next 100 years.

With strong ties to the Hanahauoli School community, the Cooke family at-large and the Cooke Foundation, Limited, are honored to be a part of the school’s history and this monumental observance of the school’s 100th birthday. Records from the Hawaii Community Foundation demonstrate Cooke Foundation’s substantial giving to the school since 1998. In Spring 2018, the Foundation issued its first annual gift to the school of $50,000. This inaugural annual gift — like those that are given to the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Manoa Heritage Center, and The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii — signifies the Cooke Foundation’s deep trust in the organization and its desire to work in collaboration with Hanahauoli School to carry out its mission. In addition to monetary gifts, many family members have given their time and talent by working at the school. This includes Dr. Lynne Johnson (Development Director, 1986–1991), Alison Baclig (Teacher, 1988–present), Juliet Matsumura (Teacher, 2018–present), and Dr. Amber Strong Makaiau (Director of the Professional Development Center, 2018–present). Finally, it is important to note the number of family members who have served on the Hanahauoli School Board of Trustees, including Dora Derby (1939–1975), Catherine Cooke Summers (1965–1969), and John Derby, Sr. (1971–1987).

In her memoir, Sophie Judd Cooke writes, “I hope Hanahauoli will be my ‘monument’ when I pass out of the picture.” (Cooke, 1964, pp. 80) Given the incredible success of this small school that started out as an idea, not only has Hanahauoli School memorialized the legacy of the Cooke’s original vision for progressive education in the community at large, but it has also helped to shape the culture of her family in future generations. For this we are thankful.

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