DID YOU KNOW?
Tacoma’s story spans more than two centuries from the time Captain George Vancouver anchored off Tacoma’s north shore in 1792.
In 1870, Tacoma’s natural deep-water port became an attraction that the Northern Pacific Railroad couldn’t pass up, when it made Tacoma a stop on its transcontinental line.
Old Tacoma and New Tacoma merged in 1884 and incorporated as Tacoma. By 1890, the population reached 36,000 people.
Tacoma is home to the Port of Tacoma, the seventh-largest container port in the United States, and it is within 20 miles of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and 36 miles of the city of Seattle.
Patricia Crouch-Cook,
Upper School English, Literary Magazine
Patti Crouch-Cook teaches English in the Upper School. “I have a great time with my colleagues and really, really enjoy the students we have at Charles Wright,” says Crouch-Cook. “Occasionally I’ll have an airplane seatmate who, upon learning that I’m a high school English teacher, wants to engage me in a conversation about everything that’s wrong with adolescents today. I have no time for that. I can always say with confidence that the students I teach are funny, creative, passionate, and remarkably sophisticated in their thinking. They never cease to amaze me with the breadth of their knowledge and their partially hidden talents. Yeah, not everyone’s perfect, but as a group, they’re pretty fabulous.”
Crouch-Cook particularly enjoys working with seniors on their college essays. “Since we generally do so much formal, analytical writing, I love their personal essays and the chance to get a glimpse into their own significant life experiences and what insights they’ve been able to draw from them.”
In addition to teaching, Crouch-Cook advises Inkblots, the Upper School literary magazine and is a member of the student/faculty senate. She enjoys hiking and backpacking and loves the Upper School’s Winterim program. “It gives teachers a chance to be participants with the students, instead of always being in charge,” she says. “Whether hiking to the bottom of Havasu Canyon in Arizona or challenging an advanced ceramics student to see how many bowls we can throw in one day, I’ve always felt during Winterim week more like a partner in a cool adventure than a teacher.”
Crouch-Cook graduated from the University of Wyoming and holds a masters degree in education from Western Washington University. She joined Charles Wright in 1998. She always enjoys cross-country skiing, running, medalsmithing and chasing small children (her own).
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