North to Name Building After Long-Time Teachers

When a couple of dedicated educators with a combined 67 years of service to the school district retire, they probably deserve a very nice send-off. But if those same educators managed to make being in the school musical popular – even for the “cool kids” – they probably deserve to have a building named after them.

That’s the idea behind ’s plan to name the west wing of the school will be dedicated and named the Dean and Sue Cobb Center for Media and the Performing Arts, after the March 26 final curtain of the school’s production of Hairspray, one of the more than 50 theater productions the Cobbs have directed and coordinated.

Dean Cobb, ’ Telecommunications Coordinator and TV-10 instructor, has worked at the school for 42 years, teaching drama, English, public speaking before being asked to design and manage the district’s educational television station 25 years ago. His wife, Sue Cobb, has for 25 years worked for the district, teaching drama, and assisting at TV-10. Set to retire at the end of this school year, the couple is credited with building TV-10, teaching students valuable real-world job skills in video production. But they are just as well known for their work coordinating school plays.

They decided to retire for what Dean Cobb said was “a whole lot of reasons that came together at one time.”

“We love our jobs,” Sue Cobb said. “You get to work with the kids who make you laugh and smile every day. Who else can say that?”

But Dean Cobb said the “economics of education, and the direction that education is headed” weighed heavily on the couple’s decision.

“We don’t know if TV-10 will continue on a year-to-year basis,” Sue Cobb said.

So, they decided together that it was time for new blood to come in and pick up where they left off.

When they learned late last year about the naming of the west wing, they were both stunned.

“He was speechless,” Sue Cobb said of her husband.

“We do humble really well,” Dean Cobb said. They haven’t quite digested what they are describing as a wonderful honor.

One final show

Hairspray will be the Cobbs’ final production. “It’s tough,” Dean Cobb said. “It is a lot of work.” He said the production couldn't be done without the volunteers who spend countless hours helping the cast of 94 students – not all of them music and theater students.

"When you count the entire cast, crew and orchestra, 10 percent of the student body is participating,” Sue Cobb said.

The Cobbs credit the enthusiasm of the kids with making every show great, but there's also a little thing called "tradition". 

“The kids also know there is a North Farmington theater tradition. They want to make the production better every year,” said Sue Cobb. It helps, she added, that it’s cool to be involved in theater. “Here at North Farmington, we’re known for our excellent musicals. So being in the school musical is not geeky at all.”

Dean Cobb admits that putting together this one, last production has been also hard emotionally, and again breathes through a rare silent moment.

Bonnie Murphy, a longtime volunteer who is one of the dozen people the Cobbs say make those plays and musicals work, gets similarly choked up when she thinks about the Cobbs’ retirement.

“They have just influenced so many people,” she said. “They’ve taken on productions that are usually considered too challenging for high school students, and have made them wonderful. They know how to bring out the best in the students.”

Big send-off

Part of the send-off for the Cobbs, along with the afterglow party after the March 26 performance, will be a presentation of a memory book and video to the couple Murphy says have touched so many young lives. She’s been accepting submissions – letters and photos – for weeks.

“You should see the incredible things people have been sending for the memory book,” she said. “One was sent from New York, and said ‘I was in Damn Yankees and it’s because of Mr. Cobb that I work in the career I’m in',” in video production.

Fellow volunteer Lucy Koviak, a retired teacher, said that the influence the Cobbs have had on students is partly a result of their hard work, passion and skills. And it’s partly the result of the very different nature of classes and programs in the creative arts.

“Theater and TV-10 are different than in other classes,” said Koviak, “where we only have students for such a limited amount of time per day. These programs tap into their creative side, and helps them discover who they are, and identify character. These are life-changing moments.”

She and Murphy are working on raising money – some $3,000 – to pay for the lettering on the west wing. Most donations so far have been small, and have been mailed in by former students, and by volunteers.

Donations for the sign and dedication of the west wing may be sent to: North Farmington High School, 32900 W. Thirteen Mile, Farmington Hills MI 48334, ATTN: Cobb Fund

For more information, contact Bonnie Murphy by email at Typinfast4you@aol.com  or Lucy Koviak at lkoviak@yahoo.com.