HISTORY Jul 2009: The Woodlands Texas History, Information and News; The John Cooper School

ong before The John Cooper School opened in 1988, developer George Mitchell planned for a private school in The Woodlands that would provide excellence in academics for its residents. In 1986, Mitchell formed a non-profit corporation that would oversee the development of a new private school, and John Cooper, long-tenured headmaster of Houston ’s Kinkaid School, was recruited as the corporation’s education adviser.

A location was chosen on the town’s far western edge near Woodlands Parkway, and Mitchell donated the 43-acre site, providing $2 million to construct the first classroom building. The school was named in honor of Cooper, who guided the school through its early years, and The John Cooper School opened on September 6, 1988.

George Mitchell’s niece, Dr. Marina Ballantyne, a new Stanford University graduate, came to Cooper as the school ’s

first headmaster. She immediately made her mark on the school by recruiting outstanding educators from all over the United States and Europe, setting the pattern of excellence that launched the school ’s reputation as a leading preparatory school. The John Cooper School began with kindergarten and four grades, then added a grade level each year. The first upper school class graduated in 1994 with former President George H. W. Bush as its Baccalaureate speaker.

The John Cooper School had 950 students in 2008. It is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest and holds membership in the National Association of Independent Schools, the National Association of College Admissions Counselors, the College Entrance Examination Board, and the Education Records Bureau. Its campus has expanded to include two gymnasiums, a fine arts building, a new performing arts center, and a new student center.