Founded as a cooperative nursery school, our school was incorporated in 1975 as the not-for-profit Melrose Cooperative Nursery School and housed in the Jewish Community Center. We soon began to add lower grades to our preschool programs and moved in 1985 to Immaculate Conception Church next to our current location. In 1990, the school purchased and began to renovate the B&B Shoe Company building at 226 West Schiller. Alex Anagnost, the building's owner, agreed to sell if the trustees would name the school after his late mother, Catherine Cook.

With more spirit and determination than funds, a passionate group of teachers and parents opened our renovated building in 1992 and continued to operate as a parent cooperative. As the school grew, a transition to a professional administrative structure took place, and in 1997, the Board conducted a national search and hired Paul Stockhammer as Head of School. The Board rewrote its bylaws in the traditional mode of an independent school, and the school was reorganized in November 1997 and ceased to function as a cooperative.

The Catherine Cook School has grown rapidly in the past ten years and stands today as a testimony to the vision, commitment, and care of creative teachers, parents, and trustees. The best evidence of our success is the daily stream of children who enter our school with a smile and a lively step in eager anticipation of a productive day in their school community.

In 2007, the school opens its doors to more than 460 students in Preschool through eighth grade, our highest enrollment ever. Our new gymnasium and rooftop play area, completed in spring 2006, greatly enhance our educational program and co-curricular offerings. Our newest unit, the Middle School, has grown steadily and offers a robust program of education through the eighth grade, with graduates attending top-tier independent schools, highly selective public high schools, and premier boarding schools.