WS/FCS to hold public hearing on closing Cook elementary school

88.5 WFDD - Public Radio For The Piedmont | By Amy Diaz

Published October 13, 2025 at 2:36 PM EDT

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education is holding a public hearing on Tuesday on the closure of Cook Literacy Model School.

District officials say enrollment at Cook has been declining over the last five years.

It has the capacity for about 500 students, and currently only has 186.

The facility is also 75 years old and in need of major improvements, including replacing the main HVAC system and elevator.

That’s why the district is recommending closing Cook next year, and reassigning students to neighboring elementary schools like Ashley, Brunson and Kimberley Park.

The district will continue to solicit feedback up until Oct. 28, when the board will take a vote on the closure and new residential boundaries.

Amy Diaz

Amy Diaz began covering education in North Carolina’s Piedmont region and High Country for WFDD in partnership with Report For America in 2022. Before entering the world of public radio, she worked as a local government reporter in Flint, Mich. where she was named the 2021 Rookie Writer of the Year by the Michigan Press Association. Diaz is originally from Florida, where she interned at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and freelanced for the Tampa Bay Times. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of South Florida, but truly got her start in the field in elementary school writing scripts for the morning news. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.

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