Last Friday, Gloucester High School principal James Cook announced that he will be stepping down at the end of this school year to return to the school’s English department.
Cook has worked in schools for the majority of his career. Before he started working at GHS, he worked for a year in Hamilton-Wenham where he taught English and Study Skills classes.
Despite being offered a job in Hamilton-Wenham, Cook opted to apply for the open English position at GHS.
“I wanted to bring the cool things I saw in other places to where I live – Gloucester,” Cook said.
Cook started working at GHS in 1999, where he taught the English curriculum to all four grades levels. He worked in the English department for 17 years before he decided to apply to the open principal position, and he officially became principal in July of 2016.
After 17 years in the English department, he took on his role as principal in the summer of 2016.
During his time as principal, Cook focused on implementing programs to promote inclusivity, such as the comprehensive programming that was created for multilingual learners.
“My leadership style is to work with all of the people involved so we can all do the best we can do,” Cook said. “Cultivating an inclusive welcoming, supportive environment for diverse students has been one area of growth for school.”
Multiple things were a factor in Cook’s decision to return to the English department, the biggest being his love for teaching.
“I would never leave in a time of crisis,” Cook said. “Gloucester is in a good place for somebody to bring their time and expertise to build on our foundation.”
Currently, it is unclear which classes Cook will be teaching when he returns to the English hallway in the fall.
