Each month leading up to The Woodlands 50th Anniversary celebration, content is created to honor the past, present and future of our community. During August, education will be featured. This article focuses on the history of Private Schools in The Woodlands. Last week’s article focused on Public Schools.
By Laura Landsbaum
Outstanding public schools stood out as an integral part of The Woodlands from the very beginning, but visionary community founder George Mitchell knew that topnotch private schools would also help lift The Woodlands to new heights. The Woodlands boasts both secular and non-secular private schools.
The John Cooper School is an independent pre-kindergarten through 12th grade school located on 43 acres donated by Mitchell himself. John Cooper’s Lower School is even named for him — it’s officially the Mitchell Lower School. The Woodland Christian Academy, which educates students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, represents another top option. It is located on 40 acres off College Park Drive.
“Mr. Mitchell knew that there would be people in the business community who wanted a more aggressive private education,” Tim Welbes, the former co-president of The Woodlands Development Corporation and Howard Hughes, says. “With the office component as an integral part of the community, Mitchell got Dr. John Cooper to come here and create that private school.”
Dr. John Cooper was the retired headmaster of Houston’s renowned Kinkaid school who had moved to The Woodlands in his retirement.
“One of the things that Mitchell valued in his upbringing was education,” John Cooper’s current head of school Dr. Stephen Popp says. “And as he was designing this community, he really wanted to create educational options for families.
“He knew there was going to be a public school system, but what he wanted was an independent school system.”
A World Class School Emerges – The John Cooper School
The John Cooper School opened on September 6, 1988, under headmaster Dr. Marina Ballantyne. Then Texas Governor George W. Bush spoke to the first graduating class in 1994. Pre-K through seventh grade were initially offered, and 175 students enrolled. Enrollment has now grown to 1,370 students in grades Pre-K through twelfth grade, with the growth gradual and intentional.
“The goal is to help drive innovation and growth to serve not only this community, but the Greater Houston area,” Popp says. “What George Mitchell envisioned was a school that could create such an environment and be exemplars for other schools within the region.”
George Mitchell’s wife Cynthia Mitchell also became heavily involved in The John Cooper School’s creation.
“Cynthia Mitchell was here helping pick out things, from tile to furniture,” Popp notes.
Popp believes Dr. Cooper and George Mitchell both would be proud of The John Cooper School of today.
“John Cooper was a scholar. He went to Yale and was a head of school for decades, and believed in the whole child,” Popp notes. “And so that was hugely important to founding a school that would have exemplary academic experiences that would also have opportunities for the students to create art with performing and visual arts. But also have opportunities to participate in a wide variety of athletics and other extracurricular programs.
“It’s a highly challenging education that is mission driven, that puts students at the center, in which care is imbued in everything we do.”
Praying For a Special School – The Woodlands Christian Academy
For The Woodland Christian Academy, a near-death experience put Dr. Bill and Debbie Parks on the path to starting a local Christian school.
“They were driving (their kids) 20 miles away to go to a Christian school because there was not one in The Woodlands,” The Woodlands Christian Academy’s head of school Julie Ambler says. “And one day they were on I-45 and nearly killed by falling debris from an 18-wheeler. As a result, they committed to pray twice a day, every morning and every night, that there could be a Christian school in The Woodlands. And they did that very faithfully for five years.”
By January 1993, the Parks gained the support of some local pastors and other families in The Woodlands area. The Parks opened a bank account for the school with $500 in it, installed a telephone line and printed brochures. Then, they started reaching out to anyone they could.
“Their plan was to start with pre-K through sixth grade,” Ambler notes. “And they prayed that they could open their school with 75 students. The school opened in September of 1993 with 150 students.”
Initially the school was located inside Faith Bible Church. A second campus followed that housed the middle school at what is now The Crossing Church, but a split campus wasn’t ideal.
“They determined that a 40 acre campus was ideal for what they wanted to accomplish,” Ambler says. “They went out and looked at parcels of land and realized that as a young school, they really couldn’t afford anything. This particular piece of land was owned by Gulf States, which is the predecessor to Entergy. And (the energy company) discovered the redheaded pileated woodpecker on the site, which is an endangered species.”
As a result, Gulf States reached out to The Woodlands Christian Academy and offered to sell the school all 40 acres for $250,000.
The Woodlands Christian Academy opened its doors in September of 1999 with one permanent building, a parking lot and portable buildings. The school graduated its first high school class of 12 students in 2001.
Current enrollment pre-K through 12th grade now sits at 860. Now, The Woodlands Christian Academy is opening a new $10.8 million Fine Arts Educational Building and a soon-to-be-finished outdoor amphitheater. Julie Ambler is starting her 19th year at the school that stays true to its original mission even as it expands.
“What we’re really passionate about is being a Christ-centered school,” Ambler says. “For us that means it’s more than just Bible classes and chapel and prayer. We integrate Christ and a Christian worldview into every subject that we teach. We also believe in rigorous, challenging academics.
“We focus on teaching (students) to think critically and to think deeply. And to debate. And to question.”
The Woodlands Christian Academy is an Apple Distinguished School, and that status brings its perks.
“I think we’ve trained almost 100 students now to be Apple geniuses,” Ambler says. “Which means that when our technology breaks, our students are able to repair it throughout the office.”
The Woodlands Christian Academy still has room for growth.
“Our vision has always been to be a school of 950 and we’re getting close to that,” Ambler says. “We’ve wanted to be very intentional about that. We really focus on knowing our students, knowing their strengths, helping them to develop their strengths and their interests, challenging them, but truly mentoring them, disciplining them and caring for them spiritually.”
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Many thanks to The Woodlands 50th Anniversary Sponsors:
FOUNDING – Howard Hughes
PRODUCER – The Woodlands Township
LEGACY – Woodforest National Bank
HERITAGE – Waste Connections Inc.
GOLD – Entergy Texas, Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital
SILVER – SVN/JBeard Real Estate, The John Cooper School