Cooper Middle School

1050 Plum Grove Circle

School District

Wheeling Central Consolidated 21
Grade

6-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:13
Type

public

School Map for Wheeling Central Consolidated School District 21

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by student on May 19, 2024

I like this school because most of the teachers are nice and supportive. The learning is somewhat exciting. To explain this, for example, in science students, get to do interactive activities, while in social studies, it is just a bunch of writing and remembering everything for the test. And, I'm not blaming the teachers because again, most of the teachers here are very supportive here. I don't however, appreciate the school administration prioritizing banning phones over student necessities. Many policies were put in place just so students couldn't access their phones. One of these policies was the complete ban on wireless headphones(earbuds). And when I say complete, I mean it. We couldn't use our earbuds on everything ranging from listening to music to completing audio assignments. Students who did not have wired headphones, the approved version of headphones, had to use captions, missing out on important audio that cannot be transcripted. Heck, some videos did not support captions at all! This issue was quickly addressed by a student who ran a petition and got 100+ signatures. He had all the valid reasons yet his petition ended up being unsuccessful for all the invalid reasons. That just also shows how the administration doesn't care about what the students say. I also don't like the fact that our school punished people as a whole. What I mean is that last year, in the spring of 2023, when I was in the 7th grade, for Homebase, we were able to go outside. One day, however, a particular student who is known to cause violence, injured another student. This led to the entirety of the 7th grade not being able to go outside anymore. I thought that just for a couple of days left of the school year, this ban was fair. However, the next year, when all of us were in 8th grade, the administration was still skeptical about letting us go outside. When our Homebase was trying to get permission to go outside, our request was denied because the reason we wanted to go outside, was "not for educational purposes". I definitely know that that was NOT the reason why we were not allowed to go outside because as I said before, they knew about what happened last year and they were still skeptical of us. They just wanted to cover up the reason with something more innocent. I think it is absolutely ridiculous to punish students like this. Like, it's been one year, it's time to move on! This is why I am giving the school a 3-star rating.
Submitted by parent on March 14, 2024

We had a good experience at Cooper with our two kids. They offer so many quality extracurriculars. ( sports, clubs, music). The teachers were always kind and encouraging towards our kids. There are some middle school situations, but it’s critical to teach your child to be nonreactive and walk gingerly in these situations. Avoidance is key. Also talking about friend choices is a good idea.
Submitted by student on February 13, 2024

The teachers punch the kids, suspend them for no reason, yell at them in the front of the class and do NOT look after them ever, sometimes they allow students to leave in the middle of the day and just go home! I do not recommend this school for anyone moving in the area
Submitted by other on June 01, 2022

Some good teachers, however most students suffered due to ill planned curriculums and a lack of comfort in classrooms. Has not provided a lot of avenues for students to express themselves apart for cookie-cutter pathways. Little initiative to go beyond what was taught in classrooms.
Submitted by parent on May 10, 2021

My daughter was an A/B student when she transferred there in the middle of 8th grade. One day she wore a red tshirt with NETFLIX on it. We love Netflix and Hulu. I got it at thrift store. So she wore it with jeans. At lunch some random female teacher made her cover up. Told her in front of a table of kids. My daughter was confused. The shirt covered her belly and wasn’t tight or see-through. A girl took her to her locker and loaned a jacket. My daughter asked what was wrong. She was told the shirt insinuated Netflix and Chill. It did not say that, just had Netflix on it. My daughter and I had to look up the term. And thanks to this school, we both felt disgusting. Then these pure geniuses sent her honor roll invite AFTER the ceremony occurred.
Submitted by other on July 02, 2019

I was a Cooper student for all 3 years and I'm gonna say it was amazing. My 6th grade year wasn't all that well,but the teachers helped me through all the drama and everything it's amazing because the teachers try to connect with students. I had and still have amazing bonds with them. One of them is with the School Dean he's the one who takes care of all the "troublesome" kids even though I wasn't troublesome hes there to even just talk . The principal and assistant Principal are just angels they insure that each kid is involved they set amazing examples and they try to spoil the kids I speak from experience. Ofcourse I would have loved if they gave accelerated social studies and science. Since I've always been more in love with English and Social Studies than Math and Science I had amazing bonds with my 8th grade English and Social Studies teacher they always pushed me twords greater potential and now I'm with flying colors in high school. This school is amazing I would definitely recommend it to any of my mothers friends for when they're choosing a school. Cooper has so many great memories for me and I think it's an amazing school it prepared lots of kids for high school and still is, it cares about it's students and faculty, and overall it's a great place to make memories and learn!
Submitted by other on January 07, 2017

I have mixed feelings about my experience at Cooper Middle School. I was a student there for all three years of middle school, which, for me, was from 2012 until 2015. Some aspects of the school are excellent. Others are quite deficient. By far the best part of my experience at Cooper was the accelerated classes. I was in the accelerated (advanced) math and English classes. The school does not offer advanced science or social studies classes, which is fine, I suppose, because I think I would have been too stressed out if all of my classes were advanced. Mrs. Wong teaches advanced math for all three grade levels, and Mrs. Bagby teaches advanced English for all three grade levels. I feel very fortunate to have had these two wonderful teachers for three years. The classes were challenging, obviously, but they prepared me well for high school. I'm now earning excellent grades as a high school sophomore, and I am two years ahead of what would be a standard math level for someone my age. The unfortunate part is that the regular-level classes did not meet this same standard of excellence. The classes were too easy and did not demand any semblance of proper work ethic. In seventh grade in particular, we were completely coddled. Any test score below a certain grade could be improved significantly just by correcting the answers, and one was permitted to use any resource they wished, including the Internet, in order to make these corrections. I can only imagine how ill-prepared for high school many of my classmates were because of this. Many of the teachers were wonderful. Others absolutely were not. One teacher in particular frequently shared with us his own political beliefs during social studies lessons, which bothered me because I believe school should be taught without a political bias. Cooper Middle School offers some awesome elective classes ("exploratories," as they're called there). They still offer Home Ec, while some schools in the area no longer do. This is a fun, yet practical class. They also offer Spanish starting in 7th grade. I personally had an awful experience with Spanish class, but the teacher I had has since retired. Cooper has stellar orchestra and band programs as well. There are also a variety of sports in which one can participate.
Submitted by parent on September 09, 2015

Cooper is a great school. My two older kids went there and now my youngest is Cooper student. The school principal and the teachers played essential role in my children development and their placement into advanced programs. That definitely helped them in being admitted to the best colleges in the country. In addition to gifted math, reading, communications, Spanish classes, Cooper has phenomenal band program led by one of the most talented educators I ever met. The band constantly wins all contests in the region.
Submitted by student on August 30, 2015

Amazing School! I'm a current student in 8th grade, and all my 2 yeas at cooper have been nothing but fun. However, there were some cases where the teachers would be ignorant to the students, and some have openly discussed that they don't care about the students, just there for the pay checks. Mostly women teachers that have retired, so nothing to worry about :) overall, the new principal is amazing, shows that he cares about us, and I hope he does later on. Great school!
Submitted by parent on March 22, 2014

Great school in a great district. Teachers are caring. I am pleased with the diversity of this school and feel it is another one of its strengths. Very welcoming neighborhood.
Submitted by parent on January 27, 2014

Great extracurricular choices--something for everyone (garden club, art club, ski club, and lots more). That's on the good side. On the bad side are the academics. Yes, the teachers are nice, but the curriculum is sorely deficient. Gotta feel bad knowing these kids are going to be thrown into high school totally unprepared.
Submitted by parent on January 26, 2014

Just moved to the area, the secretary is unpleasant/ uncooperative. I'm unable to get a tour of the school during the day, only after hours. Very disappointed as I pay about $6K in taxes per yr for the schools alone.
Submitted by parent on October 24, 2013

I have a 6th grade student at Cooper. It is a great school - the best i have experienced yet. The teachers are very knowledgeable and i love the extra curricular programs the school offers, in terms of Sports and music - for the childerns involvement. Great allaround!.
Submitted by parent on October 12, 2013

My child is a new sixth grader and is loving it so far. He is on a great team with very nice teachers. He is a bright student and comes home telling us he is having fun. He is doing great things and is challenged...can't wait for the opportunity to get his hands on the new Chromebook!
Submitted by other on June 12, 2013

I am student at the school, and I think that all the teachers are great. The school has a great accelerated program, and all students are in the classes that fit their needs. We do a lot of hard working, but still have fun. That keeps students attached to the learning and ready to learn, ALWAYS! -a current student-
Submitted by other on May 27, 2013

The teachers don't care about the education of the students, they're just here to collect their paychecks. Many of the teachers have actually admitted to not caring about students and have stressed the fact that it's just a job to them. Many of the teachers are clueless about the subjects they teach about. They google most of the questions that students ask them. Also, teachers think that they let students have "fun" in the school. That's a joke. They yell at you for talking (even while they're not talking), they yell at you for being in the hall after the passing period even if you have a pass, they don't allow you to use the bathroom no matter how much of an emergency it is but whenever they need to use it they just leave the class and use it and ask another teacher to watch over the students, teachers also bully students and talk bad stuff about them to other students, and teachers will openly tell other students your grades. The principle doesn't do anything. Read her reviews from students from Thompson Middle School and you'll see. This school is terrible. Avoid it at all costs. -- Current Student
Submitted by parent on January 08, 2013

Only send your child to this school if you are for bullying, blatant discrimination against the students and a lack of true education. One of the worst experiences of our childrens life.
Submitted by parent on December 19, 2012

This school was great. Every teachers don't hesitate giving help to students. My son transfered as I moved, but I thougth I can give 5 Star without question on this school. I would like to give many thanks to teachers and Priciple. Thnak you.