The John Cooper School is celebrating 30 years

The John Cooper School, a Pre-K through Grade 12 college preparatory independent school located in The Woodlands, is celebrating its 30th year. Cooper opened on September 6, 1988 with 175 students on 43 wooded acres that were designated for an independent school by George Mitchell, founder of The Woodlands.

Named after renowned independent school educator Mr. John Cooper, The John Cooper School has grown in both size and distinction to become one of the premier independent schools in the Houston area.

Enrollment for The John Cooper School 2018-19 academic year was 1,242 students and campus facilities have steadily expanded, but the vision set forth in the formative years remains the same today – to provide a challenging education in a caring environment for students to become critical and creative thinkers, effective communicators, responsible citizens and leaders, and lifetime learners.

The John Cooper School faculty embrace the opportunity to teach students to think, question, analyze, create, understand and take responsibility for their world, paving the way for them to go “from curiosity to wisdom.”

As set forth by Mr. John Cooper’s vision in 1988, academics, athletics, fine arts and community service form the cornerstones of a Cooper education. Middle and Upper School students benefit from the experience of competitive athletics. The school fields ten interscholastic varsity teams that compete in the prestigious Southwest Preparatory Conference.

Extensive visual and performing arts programs provide classroom instruction as well as performance and exhibition opportunities. The John Cooper School students enrich their own lives and the lives of others through a deep voluntary commitment to outreach projects. two entirely student-led projects – Habitat Project and Empty Bowls – involve the participation of students from every grade level.

A Brief History Of The John Cooper School

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.

The John Cooper School 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 over 100,000 residents located 40 miles north of Houston.

The John Cooper School began operations with an enrollment of 175 students in prekindergarten through seventh grade, and one additional grade level was added each successive year. The first senior class graduated in 1994. The opening enrollment of 1,294 students for 2021-22 represents the School’s largest ever student body.

A non-profit corporation governed by a board of trustees, The John Cooper School earned its first accreditation by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) in 1998. That accreditation was renewed again in 2008 and 2018. 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).

MS/US Academic Building Construction of The John Cooper School

The campus has expanded in conjunction with the School’s steadily growing student body. Construction on a Middle/Upper School academic building was completed in 1992, and 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.

The Sims Student Center opened in 2005, featuring a dining hall, meeting rooms, and student lounge areas. A 38,000 square foot Glenn Performing Arts Center opened in 2008, featuring band, choir, and dance rooms, a 125-seat black box theater, and a 520-seat main stage theater.

In 2011, a new Upper School library and four classrooms were added, synthetic turf was installed on the football/soccer field, and a scoreboard naming Pugh Field was erected. A Middle School football program was also initiated as part of a multi-year plan to develop football as a fall sport on the varsity, sub-varsity, and Middle School levels. An Upper School football team (grades 9-11) was added to the football program for the 2012-13 school year.

In 2013, the school opened a 18,000 square foot classroom addition to the Lower School, which facilitated the addition of 62 new Lower School students. This addition includes rooms for all fifth grade classes plus a music room, computer lab, and Spanish classrooms that are used by students at various Lower School grade levels.

In 2014, the baseball field was renovated with the addition of new dugouts, lighting, spectator seating, and an indoor hitting facility. Artificial turf was installed on the entire playing field surface, and the facility was named the Field Family Diamond at Finnie Park.

In 2016, the school opened The Rock Math + Science Center, which spans three stories and includes 60,000 square feet of interior space. Included in the Center are three classrooms and laboratories for Middle School science, six for Upper School science, and seven for mathematics. The Center also houses a computer lab, robotics classroom, forum classroom, Finnie Family Rooftop Garden & Observatory, Bayless Chemistry Plaza, and 135-seat Ramirez Lecture Hall.

A new, 4,250 square foot Lower School Library building opened in 2018, and the former library was renovated to consolidate administrative offices.