Cooper to crown new science, math center
The John Cooper School’s new math and science center has reached a construction milestone.
After months of work, the school will celebrate the facility’s topping out from 5:30 to 7 p.m. today.
“We are so excited to bring this Rock Center for Math and Science to our campus. It’s going to be the most amazing center for our students and faculty,” said Director of Advancement Troye Skipworth, who handles the school’s fundraising efforts. “We’ve still got our work cut out for us. We’re going to have a very big year.”
The 45,000-square-foot structure will hold STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — classes for sixth- through 12th grade students. It broke ground in June and expects the new building to be complete in time for the 2016-17 school year.
The John Cooper School, which has been a
part of The Woodlands for nearly 30 years, has drawn inspiration from university-grade facilities for the new building.
The center’s design revolves around “flexible learning” concepts, where lab equipment and furniture are mobile and classrooms can be assembled to fit several different teaching styles. Science labs are also being designed so that groups of up to six people can work collaboratively. The school hopes the flexibility will create a space for interactive learning and inquiry-based curriculums.
The center will also include a robotics laboratory, glass classroom walls, designated collaborative work spaces and technology integration.
“We don’t think there’s anything near its offering in the Houston area except perhaps at colleges. We’re very excited to offer this to our students,” Skipworth said. “People can see the learning inside, and what we’re hoping is that it will motivate all the people who aren’t necessarily in the room at that moment to get excited about what’s happening.”
Funds for the Rock Center were raised through private contributions from the school’s board members and the community at large. More than $12 million has been raised from about 30 donors, and the school hopes to raise several million more. An exact goal for the capital campaign hasn’t been determined yet.
“All of our families have been very receptive,” said Johnna Edone, the capital campaign chair. “I think they’re not only excited about the Rock Center, they love Cooper. We have an exceptional faculty and they love the students. They can tell the kids are very happy.”
The John Cooper School hopes to publicly launch its “Smart Science and Math Center Capital Campaign” next spring.