William John Cooper Academy
Address
2277 West Bellaire Way

Fresno, California
93705-1736

United States
Information
School typePublic, middle school
MottoInquire, Inspire, Innovate.
Established1959 (1959)
StatusOpen
AuthorityFresno Unified School District
PrincipalSandra Auble
Teaching staff25.45 (FTE)[1]
Grades6-8
Enrollment573 (2018-19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio22.51[1]
MascotCougar
Websitewww.fresnounified.org/schools/cooper

William John Cooper Academy is a middle school in Fresno, California operated by the Fresno Unified School District.

The school implements the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program. The IB program was given to Cooper Middle School (the name of the school before it was Cooper Academy), since most students from Cooper Middle School would later on attend Fresno High School, a high school that implements the IB Diploma Program. During the 2012–2013 school year, there were about 430 students attending Cooper Academy.

The school was first approved to be built by the Fresno City Board of Education in November 1956[2] and opened as a junior high school (grades 7, 8 and 9) in the fall of 1959 with John Solo as the inaugural principal.[3] In the fall of 1978, William John Cooper Junior High School officially became William John Cooper Middle School (grades 7 and 8), when Hamilton Junior High School was made into a new "freshman school," educating only ninth graders.[4][5] The school is named for William John Cooper, a Californian, who served as United States Commissioner of Education under Presidents Coolidge, Hoover and Roosevelt from 1929 to 1933.[6][7][8] In August 2012, Cooper Middle School became Cooper Academy, starting with the sixth and seventh grade levels only. In August 2013 the eighth grade level was added.

Author William Saroyan lived two blocks from the school from 1964 to 1981, sometimes interacting with students.[9][10][11]

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Cooper Middle". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  2. ^ "Board Assigns 10 School Jobs To Architects". 1956. The Fresno Bee (November 9, 1956).
  3. ^ Fresno Unified School District Directory (1959-60)
  4. ^ Associated Press. 1977 .Fresno Desegregation Plan Finally Approved, Santa Cruz Sentinel (July 12, 1977), p. 6.
  5. ^ Fresno Unified School District Directory (1978-79)
  6. ^ Addicott, Irwin O. 1980. "A History of Fresno Schools," published by the Fresno Unified School District Board of Education, pp. 37-38, (retrieved Jan. 14, 2011)
  7. ^ Dow, John Allan. 1967. "History of Public School Organization and Administration in Fresno County, California," doctoral dissertation: University of Southern California (USC)
  8. ^ "Data Regarding Physical Properties Compiled As An S.E.R.A. Project -- 1935," Fresno Unified School District
  9. ^ Mayhew, Don. 2008. Man of many faces–Fresnans who knew William Saroyan late in his life recall him as a bundle of contradictions. The Fresno Bee (June 1, 2008), p. A1.
  10. ^ McEwen, Bill. 2003. Arax plows new ground on Boswell. The Fresno Bee (December 11, 2003), p. B1.
  11. ^ The Fresno Bee. 1988. second Saroyan House Added to Local Register (December 22, 1988), p. B1.
  12. ^ Hagan, Ryan. 2017. San Bernardino City Manager Mark Scott announces retirement . The San Bernardino Sun
  13. ^ Mark Scott - Meet Your City Manager
  14. ^ Sheehan, Tim. 2012. New opinion editor chosen - McEwen takes on Bee editorial pages. The Fresno Bee (December 27, 2012)
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