The John Cooper School

The John Cooper School is an independent, college preparatory, non-sectarian, co-educational day school located in The Woodlands, an unincorporated planned community in Montgomery County, Texas, United States.

The John Cooper School
File:JohnCooperSchoolCrest.gif
Location
The Woodlands , Texas United States
Information
Type	Independent Co-educational College preparatory Non-residential
Motto	From Curiosity To Wisdom
Religious affiliation(s)	Non-sectarian
Established	1988
Headmaster	Michael F. Maher
Faculty	82 Full-time, 6 Part-time
Enrollment	983
Average class size	17
Student to teacher ratio	11:1
Campus	Suburban
Color(s)	Green Black
Athletics	Male and Female Varsity, Junior Varsity and Middle School
Athletics conference	Southwest Preparatory Conference
Mascot	Dragon
Website	http://www.johncooper.org

Overview

The John Cooper School is an independent college preparatory day school for students in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12. The campus is located in a beautifully forested area of The Woodlands, Texas, a planned community of 97,000 residents located approximately 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Houston. Cooper currently enrolls 337 students in the Upper School (9-12), 242 in the Middle School (6-8) and 404 in the Lower School (PK-5).

A Brief History

The John Cooper School was founded through the generosity of corporate and private benefactors, dedicated parents and other supporters in The Woodlands and the Houston metropolitan area. It was named in honor of Mr. John Cooper, the long-tenured Headmaster of Houston’s Kinkaid School, whose expertise and counsel guided the school through its original formation and early years of operation.

Cooper officially opened on September 6, 1988, on a 43-acre campus designated for this purpose by Mr. George Mitchell. Mr. Mitchell is the founder and original developer of The Woodlands, a planned community of approximately 97,000 residents located 40 miles (64 km) north of Houston.

The School began operations with an enrollment of 175 students in Pre-kindergarten through Grade 7, and one additional grade level was added each successive year. The first senior class graduated in 1994. The opening enrollment of 983 students for the 2010-11 academic year represents the school’s largest ever student body.

Campus Expansion

The campus has expanded in conjunction with the School’s steadily growing student body. A capital campaign in 2001 supported the construction of a Middle/Upper School Gymnasium and Track, additional fine arts classrooms and a third Middle School science lab. Additional funding supported the expansion of the Middle/Upper School classroom building; five classrooms, two computer labs and new guidance and college counseling offices were added. A new Student Center opened in October, 2005, featuring a dining hall, meeting rooms and student lounge areas.

A new 38,000-square-foot (3,500 m²) Performing Arts Center was opened in 2008 that features a 515-seat main stage theater, a 115-seat Black Box theater, choir and band classrooms, a dance studio, scene shop, costume shop and dressing rooms. Plans are currently under way to expand the Middle/Upper School library facilities.

Accreditation

A non-profit corporation governed by a Board of Trustees, Cooper earned its first accreditation by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) in 1998. That accreditation was renewed again in 2008. The School also holds memberships in the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC), the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) and the Education Records Bureau (ERB) and the Cum Laude Society of America.

The Academic Program

Small classes, personal attention, and excellence in academics, arts, athletics, and community service form the cornerstones of a Cooper education. Cooper combines traditional educational practices with innovative programs to teach students to think, question, analyze, create, understand, and take responsibility for their world. Cooper is a diverse community. Students of color comprise 33 percent of the student body and 12 percent of Cooper students hold citizenship from one or more of 29 foreign countries.

Academics include English, mathematics, science, social sciences, foreign languages, computer science, physical education visual and performing arts. Spanish is offered PK through Grade 12 and French is offered beginning in the seventh grade. Eighteen advanced placement courses are offered to Upper School students and for the last four years, The John Cooper School has been nominated for the prestigious Siemens Advanced Placement High School Award for having one of the strongest AP math and science programs in the state.

Of Cooper's 110 faculty members, 62 members of Cooper's faculty hold master's degrees and three hold doctoral degrees.

Athletics and Extracurricular Activities

Seventy percent of Cooper's Middle and Upper School students participate in at least one sport. Students select from girls' volleyball and softball, boys' baseball and boys' and girls' cross country, soccer, basketball, track, tennis, swimming and golf. Football is being added to the athletic program in 2011. Varsity teams compete in the highly regarded Southwest Preparatory Conference that comprises 18 independent schools in Texas and Oklahoma. Cooper athletes have won conference championships each year and have been named individual champions in their respective sports.

Extensive club, service and leadership opportunities are offered at all grade levels. The school community contributes to the greater community through a wide variety club and service projects in all divisions as well as school-wide efforts such as the Habitat Project that has partially funded and constructed Habitat homes for the past 12 years, and the Empty Bowls Project, held each February, to support and fund local hunger relief efforts. Cooper enables students to become creative thinkers, responsible citizens, and lifetime learners.

Cooper graduates have 69 percent college matriculation and are accepted to top colleges and universities, nationally and internationally. Each year students are named National Merit Finalists and Semifinalists, Commended Scholars and Hispanic Scholars. In recent years, Cooper students have been awarded and accepted prestigious merit scholarships as well as local scholarships. Seniors in the Cooper Class of 2010 were offered over $1.5 thousand in merit scholarships and accepted over $50,000 from organizations and academic institutions.

Administration

• Head of School, Michael Maher
• Assistant Head of School, Head of Upper School, Joseph Broccoli
• Upper School Dean of Students, Joseph Butters (interim)
• Head of Middle School, Jon Strecker
• Middle School Dean of Students, Walter Steadman
• Head of Lower School, Shirley Berdecio
• Assistant Head of Lower School, Teresa Robson
• Director of Admissions, Craig Meredith
• Director of College Counselingl, Anne Naman
• Registrar, Dr. Anne Meinrath
• Athletic Director, Mike Cooper
• Assistant Athletic Director, Scott Holland
• Director of Development, Troye Skipworth
• Director of Communications, Deb Spiess
• Director of Technology, Rodney Lisembee
• Business Manager, Jack Ramsey
• Director of Sexual Education, Kimberly Larance
• Director of Facilities, Jimmy Vess

External links

• The John Cooper School
• The John Cooper School - Teacher's Websites