Published January 29, 2026
BY THEODORA MILLER
The further one travels into Big Sur, the less the surrounding areas resemble Earth in the 21st century. Henry Miller was not alone when he said that to live in Big Sur was to “make living itself an art.”
Just off winding Highway 1, there’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it road up the mountain, leading to the smallest, most remote and most beautiful elementary school in Carmel Unified School District–one with its own challenges and strengths: Captain Cooper.
Captain Cooper and Apple Pie preschool share a site though they are technically separate schools. Photo by THEODORA MILLER
Captain Cooper doesn’t resemble other elementary schools because, in many ways, it is not. The six-grade elementary program has only 51 students, and the child development center–Apple Pie Preschool–is confined to an on-site portable classroom.
Principal Kara Gober is used to alternative learning environments. She’s a Peace Corps veteran who taught in Lesotho, an enclave country in the middle of South Africa, as well as an international school in Bogotá, Colombia. After working in and around the Monterey Bay for 12 years, Gober was offered the role as principal at Captain Cooper, where the small size and remote location barely fazed her.
“I don’t really have one idea of what a ‘normal’ education looks like,” the principal says.
Gober grew up in Southern California, which puts her in the minority of teachers at Captain Cooper. There are three Captain Cooper alumni currently teaching on site and many more who have kids that attend or have attended the school. Many of the staff grew up in the area and have familiar connections to the school, none more so than Ryan Marden, a teacher for the joint fourth and fifth grade class and son of former Captain Cooper teaching principal Jay Marden.
The school is incredibly community-based. It goes without saying that everyone knows everyone, and due to the small size, there are lots of opportunities to build connections. The head administrator says school-wide field trips are not uncommon. But the community extends beyond the classroom. One day, the mother of a Transitional Kindergarten student, also an alum, dropped off avocados at the school that morning, just because.
Many Captain Cooper alumni now teach at the school. Photo by THEODORA MILLER
“Students and teachers can connect more,” says paraeducator Hannah Newell, a Cooper alum.
The environment surrounding Captain Cooper is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the vaguely alien fauna and towering redwoods give Cooper the feeling of a secluded and idyllic hamlet of another age. It’s this same landscape that’s given inspiration to artists as varied as old Hollywood star Rita Hayworth and contemporary film actor Brad Pitt. On the other hand, the environment presents daily difficulties with the school, students and buses, constantly at the mercy of floods, bridge accidents, fires and falling trees.
There is no clear solution for any of these problems, or at least none that don’t come with steep costs. The school is inaccessible except for Highway 1, something the school has struggled with in recent years.
“One of our biggest environmental challenges is access,” Gober says. “Because of our location, Highway 1 is sometimes closed due to landslides, erosion or storm damage, which can affect students’ and staff’s ability to reach campus. This requires flexibility, resilience and strong communication to ensure students stay supported.”
Carmel High School freshman Sophia Mora has fond memories of her tight-knit Captain Cooper community, but says that the transition to Carmel Middle School was difficult. Mora also remembers a bridge collapsing and having to take a side trail to reach her bus stop during her time at Cooper.
“It was hard to make new friends in middle school,” says Mora.
Fellow freshman Hazel Tischio attended Captain Cooper for her fourth and fifth grade years. Tischio’s mother is the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) teacher at Cooper. Despite living in Seaside and commuting an hour every day, Hazel Tischio reflects happily upon her time at the elementary school.
Captain Cooper and Apple Pie preschool share a site though they are technically separate schools. Photo by THEODORA MILLER
“At Captain Cooper, everybody knew each other as siblings, and the teachers were closer as well,” recalls Tischio.
The school’s small size helps it in various ways, but perhaps none more so than in accommodating the school’s high percentage of English learners. Twenty percent of the students at Captain Cooper are not native English speakers. However, because of the small size, the community is able to adapt easily, and the principal notes that teachers are able to incorporate alternative language skills as strengths in the classroom.
“Our school has long reflected the diversity of the community it serves,” Gober explains. “Multilingual students are not new to our campus; they have always been part of the fabric of our school. We celebrate all students and their linguistic and cultural backgrounds as strengths that enrich our learning environment.”
In recent years, the school has focused on connecting with neighboring schools. As much as Captain Cooper prides itself in being locally based, it is a small community, and Gober is vocal about making sure the three local elementary schools–Tularcitos, Carmel River School, and Captain Cooper–crossover before middle school. She supports this mission with programs like science camp with Tularcitos in October and the annual spring concert at the Sunset Center, showcasing students’ choral, band and orchestral skills with all three schools.
Secluded and small, Captain Cooper remains unique among the surrounding urban elementary schools and serves as a remnant of an increasingly rare, rural, community-based learning center. Occupying a specific position to serve a small but vital population of Big Sur students, Captain Cooper more than makes up for their size and accessibility issues with their community-based, whole student approach to education.
