Gooden Blog

Tomorrow night, we’ll gather at NOOR in Pasadena to celebrate something really special, 50 years of The Gooden School. It’s a big milestone, and honestly, we can’t wait to be together and mark the moment as a community.
 

Fifty years is a long time. It’s generations of students, families, teachers, and friends who have all played a part in shaping what Gooden is today. When you stop and think about it, that’s pretty incredible.
 

For so many of us, Gooden isn’t just a school; it’s a place that feels like home. That feeling has been part of this community from the very beginning. You hear it in the stories from our earliest families and from members of the founding class, like Maggie Heflin Sabbag and Robert Ell, who are still connected to the school all these years later.
 

You see it, too, in the people and families who have helped build and support Gooden over time, the Heflin family, the Edwards family, Jack and Sandy Towner, and so many others. Their impact is woven into the fabric of this place.
 

Anniversaries like this give us a chance to slow down and say thank you to the people who had the vision to start Gooden, to the educators who brought that vision to life, and to the families and community members who have carried it forward. Gooden is what it is because of all of them.
 

There are also so many people who have worked hard to make tomorrow night happen, and we are so grateful for this community. We’ll also take time to honor someone who means so much to this community, Jo-Anne Woolner. Her impact on Gooden is hard to put into words. She’s been a mentor, a leader, and a steady presence for so many people, and it feels right to celebrate her as part of this milestone.
 

While we’ll spend time reflecting on the past, this is also about looking ahead. A lot has changed over the past 50 years, but what makes Gooden special hasn’t. Our focus on helping students grow into thoughtful, kind, capable people is still at the center of everything we do.
 

And that’s what makes the future feel so exciting.
 

Tomorrow night is really about being together, catching up, sharing memories, laughing, and looking around the room and realizing just how many people are part of this story.
 

We’re so grateful to be part of it with you.
 

Here’s to 50 years of Gooden, and to what comes next.