Dear TCS Families,

After years of study and planning, we are thrilled to announce that we are moving forward on a Middle School. In August 2020, The Cooper School Middle School will officially open with Grade 6. We will continue to add a grade a year until we operate fully as Grades 5-8.  In 2021, we will add a 7th grade class and by August 2022, we will have an 8th grade… and a fully functioning Middle School. 

As a more comprehensive backdrop to this news, you should know that opening a Middle School has been something the Board has considered and discussed for years.  The 2017 Cooper School Strategic Plan defined adding a middle school as an essential component of our growth. It also determined that such an addition would be a valuable addition to Charleston’s educational community and, specifically, for our students and prospective families.   

A deep body of educational research supporting the K-8 school model continues to grow. The impacts of the K-8 model include more robust academic achievement, greater student leadership skills, and higher levels of self-esteem and positive feelings toward school.   These, as we all know, align perfectly with the mission and values of The Cooper School.  

The expansion of our progressive program into the middle school grades will allow us to continue the extraordinary work we do academically, as well as in social-emotional learning.  Further, we will be rolling out additional programming relative to this older age group. This is indeed a big moment for The Cooper School and our ever-growing commitment to cultivating the best in our children, helping them to be excellent stewards of this world and above all, the best version of themselves.   

I have been eager to announce this news and have you share in the excitement. There is, of course, much more to this discussion and we will be announcing specifics in the coming weeks.  There will be information about the middle school location and, for those with children in Grade 5, information on how to begin the process of enrolling. Until then, do not hesitate to reach out to me with questions!  

Enthusiastically,

Franci Bell