RT 343
Cambridge, MD 21613

Cooper has been a really good school for my daughter. Her teachers were supportive, kind, and truly dedicated to helping students grow. They taught responsibility and independence in a way that really made a difference for her. The front office staff was always welcoming and helpful, and we consistently felt cared for by the school community.The only area that fell short for us was PE. If a student isn’t naturally athletic, the PE teachers don’t seem to offer the same level of respect, encouragement, or kindness. This was disappointing, especially compared to the wonderful experience we had with the rest of the staff.Overall, Cooper provided a strong, supportive environment for my daughter, and we are grateful for the many positive experiences she had there.

We have been struggling for 3 years at this school. My child is doing very well in school but is not challenged and the pace of learning is slow and not engaging. We have never really felt welcome as parents and we don’t feel the administration has ever made an effort to know my child. Some grades give homework and other grades don’t. Teacher communication differs by grade level. But I often don’t know what my child is learning or how they are doing until the report cards come out. The kids are constantly being tested on skills they have not been taught. The testing is a bit excessive. There is a lot of teacher turnover as well as a lot of part time teachers. There is a lot of non academic time including screen time as early as kindergarten. The PTA is very present and constantly fundraising. Every event is for raising money. However instead of focusing on opportunities to benefit the students most of the budget is geared toward teacher perks. They do arrange after school classes but they’re very expensive and probably a fundraiser too. The principal is overly supporting teachers over students. This school has a Japanese immersion program but the parents treat this like a separate private school. The entry is by lottery but it seems the majority of the class is made up of local kids. I believe the school would be stronger without the language immersion program. It seems to segregate kids. We don’t feel any community at this school and it’s sad because it’s a small school that has the potential but communication and family engagement is poor. There are several PTA members that are heavily involved and don’t seem to welcome newcomers.

Class of 2021 here, part of the special education system with ADHD + Dyslexia. The special education team was apathetic and disinterested at best and traumatic and ableist at worst. The team had fought against me taking certain classes and fought against me working towards an advanced depolama. Too biased and a bit unprofessionally mean to certain students. I’ve caught too many scoffs, rolling eyes, and ignoring my questions. Not to mention my intelligence was being debated during parent teacher conferences, so much so that a psychiatrist had to be present, but ultimately I decided to represent myself during these meetings. How are you to scoff and roll your eyes at a child with learning challenges? The classes that the IEP team strongly advised me against taking ended up being the most motivating and accommodating class settings purely out of the teachers own kindness towards the student and passion for their position.IEP team, please save your frustrations and negative attitudes and do not put it onto neurodivergent students. They aren’t stupid and can sense your anger.Do your job like how you described in the interview process and treat these kids with more care and kindness. They’re in the phase where everything you do will affect them for life.