Our School

By Carol McGurk

One of the most outstanding things about Cooper School is the fact that more than one generation, in many families, has lived in the Cooper Neighborhood and attended elementary classes here. Numerous third generation students are found in attendance today.
In 1908, Cooper School, formerly named, Minnehaha, was annexed to Spokane Schools and renamed in honor of James Fennimore Cooper, American novelist.

The first building was a small, four-room, wood frame structure. The first principal of Cooper, Ora E.Heaton (1908-1919), had a staff of two, Fannie Wolford and Pauline Drake. That building was moved to the Bemiss School site in 1909 while a new, eight-room, brick and frame building took its place. By 1910, the staff had increased to Principal Heaton, six teachers, and one custodian, J.A. Abey.

Many former students remembered Principal Margaret Richardson (1925-1936), as “one who kept real order and did not spare the paddle when needed. She tempered her discipline with dedication and caring for the students, grades 1-8.”

Another staff member who garnered fond memories from students of the late 1930s and early 1940s was Miss Knight. As fourth grade teacher, she often played the violin for her classes. A special honor for students was to be selected to take the violin home for the weekend.

On May Day in the early 1930s and 1940s, Cooper students traditionally presented a program. Parents were invited to sit in folding chairs on the front lawn of the school and watch the May Pole Dance and various pageants. Some early presentations included The Marriage of George and Martha Washington and Food Parade featuring Suzie Sweet Pickle.

Sports, too, held importance in those days. “There were no TVs, no cars, nothing much for boys to do except sports, so everyone participated.” The sports program for girls began in the 1970s. Baseball, soccer, and basketball were the only team sports in the 1930s. All games were held outside on a dirt field that had to be raked by the players before each game.

Miss Danforth was the coach for all sports. Cooper’s baseball team beat every north side school and then won over Irving School for the city championship in 1937. The final game was played at Natatorium Park. Dr. George I. Werner umpired every game for the league that year.

Occasionally, P.E. activities were held in a basement classroom, if they were held at all during inclement weather. School assemblies were held in the main hallway until the addition of a multipurpose unit in 1952.

Twenty-one portable units were added to Cooper between 1952 and 1979 to accommodate the growing enrollment. Pupil membership rose from 194 in 1950 to an average of 500 in 1979. Enrollment dropped a bit in 1959 when seventh and eighth grades transferred to Shaw Middle School. Coopers current enrollment is 550 students.

In 1979 all permanent buildings were demolished and the Cooper population moved into the first one of 13 projects schools to be built that year. Principal Glenn Clark (1973-1981) recalls the transition time between construction of the new building and demolition of the old building as “highly stressful but exciting.” Cooper went from being a mid-sized school to being the largest in the city in terms of student population.

Even in the area of construction, Cooper has the distinction of being touched by family generations. Wallace A. Sharpe, Sr. supervised the building of the new addition in 1952 and his son, Wallace A. Sharp, Jr. supervised the building of the new Cooper School in 1979.

The current Cooper School, located on a 5.11 acre site, is a steel frame and cast concrete structure containing 26 classrooms (two of these were added in 1986), a multipurpose room, art and music classrooms, a library and gym and 2 portable classrooms. Over 550 students and 70 staff members comprise the school population the fall of 2004.