|  | 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 85,000 residents located 40 miles north of Houston.
The School began operations with an enrollment of 175 students in pre-kindergarten through grade seven, and one additional grade level was added each successive year. The first senior class graduated in 1994. The opening enrollment of 965 students for 2009-10 represents the School’s largest ever student body.
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).
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 sf performing arts center was opened in 2008. |
| | |
|