The John Cooper School

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

History

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The school was founded in 1988 by John H. Cooper, who had previously served for several years as Headmaster at The Kinkaid School in Piney Point Village, Texas, near Houston. The concept had the full support and cooperation of George Mitchell, the developer of The Woodlands. Mitchell set aside a well-sized tract of land in what was then the town's outskirts specifically for the purpose of establishing a school. 175 students were enrolled in one building for the 1988-1989 school year in grades pre-kindergarten through seventh grade. A subsequent grade was added each year thereafter, and the pre-kindergarten program was dropped after 1992. In 1993, a gymnasium, a visual arts center, and a new academic building opened. The school's first senior class of twenty five students graduated in 1994, with George H.W. Bush as the keynote speaker at the Baccalaureate ceremony.

In recent years, the school has embarked on a major expansion program, called The John Cooper School Capital Campaign. This fundraising effort, which lasted over several years, yielded a track & field complex and a second gymnasium in 2002, the addition of a new wing to the middle/high school building in 2003, the expansion of the fine arts complex in 2004, and a cafeteria and student center in 2005. After the announcement of reinstating the pre-kindergarten program, after 16 year hiatus, a new wing was built in the Lower School in 2007. The construction for a performing arts facility was completed recently in early 2009. The John Cooper School has made several attempts recently to go green. The most recent of these have been placing recycling bins around the campus and discontinuing the use of plastic trays in the cafeteria. The John Cooper continues to look for ways to improve.

Tuition

Tuition at The John Cooper School varies by grade level, ranging from $11,900 to $16,650 ('08-'09) and does not include the cost of textbooks for middle and upper school students (6-12). 11% of the student body receives some sort of need-based financial assistance.

School trips

Class trips are offered annually for students in grades 6-11. Grades 6 through 8 take class trips in April of every year; 6th and 7th graders go to camps in central Texas for various team-building activities, while 8th graders visit Washington, D.C. as a capstone to the American History course taken that year. In the Upper School, freshmen and sophomores spend four days in the fall at John Newcombe Tennis Ranch. Juniors visit several colleges, such as Baylor University and the University of Texas at Austin. Attendance on these trips is strongly encouraged, though not mandatory; costs are not included in yearly tuition. In addition, summer trips are often arranged for smaller groups of Middle and Upper School students; teachers in past years have accompanied students to Spain, Greece, France and other nations.

Affiliations

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The John Cooper School is accredited by The Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS), and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). Its athletic teams compete in the Southwest Preparatory Conference with other private schools in Texas and Oklahoma.

Administration

• Head of School, Michael F. Maher
• Assistant Head of School, Joseph Broccoli
• Interim Head of Lower School, Jerry Hakes
• Middle School Dean of Students, Walter Steadman
• Head of Middle School, Jon Strecker
• Head of Upper School, Joseph Broccoli
• Upper School Dean of Students, C. Randy Noll
• Athletic Director, Michael Cooper
• Assistant Athletic Director, Scott Holland
• Director of Development, Troye Skipworth
• Director of Admissions, Craig Meredith
• Director of Technology, Rodney Lisembee

External links

Houston portal

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