Robbinsdale Cooper High School is a 4-year public high school in
New Hope,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, a northwest suburb of
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
, United States. Cooper, as it is informally known, became an
IB World School
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into ...
in July 1998, and now offers the
IB Middle Years Program ''(MYP)'' and the
IB Diploma Programme
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into ...
along with a wide variety of courses and curricula suited to the needs of every student. RCHS has a large fine arts and music program, as well as multiple extracurricular activities including a broad selection of athletics. RCHS is home to about 1600 students. Cooper students and alumni are known as Hawks, after the school's mascot.
School history
![Robinsdale Cooper High School](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Robinsdale_Cooper_High_School.jpg)
''E. J. Cooper Senior High School'', as it was originally known, was built in 1964 to accommodate increasing enrollment in the Robbinsdale Area School District (Independent School District 281). Once called the most modern high school in the area, Cooper was advanced in both structure and
audiovisual
Audiovisual (AV) is electronic media possessing both a sound and a visual component, such as slide-tape presentations, films, television programs, corporate conferencing, church services, and live theater productions.
Audiovisual service prov ...
technology. It was named for district superintendent Edwin J. ("E.J.") Cooper, and for years E.J. was a popular guest at school gatherings. The school's first principal was Lyndon Ulrich. In its first year, Cooper held classes for kindergarten as well as grades 10 through 12. It then held grades 10 through 12 for many years before adding the 9th grade in the 1990s.
In 1982, declining enrollment in the district forced the closure of one of the district's 3 high schools. Robbinsdale High School was chosen for closure after contentious debate. In an effort to placate
Robbinsdale
Robbinsdale is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minnesota,. The population was 13,953 at the time of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total ...
residents, the two remaining high schools within the district, Cooper and Armstrong, were renamed ''Robbinsdale Cooper'' and ''
Robbinsdale Armstrong''.
Cooper Athletics & Activities
Cooper entered into the
MSHSL
The Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) is a voluntary, non-profit association for the support and governance of interscholastic activities at high schools in Minnesota, United States.
The association supports interscholastic athletics an ...
Metro West Conference Metro West Conference is a high school athletic conference in Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 mil ...
in the fall of 2014. From 2005 to 2014, Cooper teams competed in the now-defunct North Suburban Conference.
The Girls' Swim Team won the North Suburban Conference Championship in 2005 and 2006. The Boys'
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
Team won the Conference Championship in 2006, and finished 2nd in the state tournament behind
Hopkins High School
Hopkins High School is a public high school located in Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States. Minnetonka is a southwestern suburb of Minneapolis. It offers classes for grades 10, 11, and 12, making it one of the only schools in the state still wi ...
. This was the first time since 1975 that the team had made it to the state tournament. In 2010 Cooper Sophomore Brenna Walek set 4 Minnesota State High School League records for softball including home runs in a single game (4), consecutive home runs (4), RBIs in a game (9), and walks in a single game (4).
In the 2010–2011 Boys' Hockey season, the Hawks beat their archrival the
Armstrong Falcons
Robbinsdale Armstrong High School (full name Robbinsdale Neil A. Armstrong Senior High School) (abbr. AHS) is located in Plymouth, Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis. The school serves students from the cities of Robbinsdale, Crystal, New Hope, ...
. It was the first win against Armstrong since 1995. This 2010-11 team tallied 14 wins, their most since 1984. The Girls' hockey team was also quite successful in 2010–11, racking up 7 wins which tied their all-time high. However that season would be their last as the girls' team merged with the
Armstrong Falcons
Robbinsdale Armstrong High School (full name Robbinsdale Neil A. Armstrong Senior High School) (abbr. AHS) is located in Plymouth, Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis. The school serves students from the cities of Robbinsdale, Crystal, New Hope, ...
in the fall of 2011. The boys' hockey team merged with the Armstrong boys' team in the fall of 2014.
Traditionally, the Cooper Hawks' primary athletic rivalry has been with the
Armstrong Falcons
Robbinsdale Armstrong High School (full name Robbinsdale Neil A. Armstrong Senior High School) (abbr. AHS) is located in Plymouth, Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis. The school serves students from the cities of Robbinsdale, Crystal, New Hope, ...
.
In 2017-18 the Girls’ Basketball team won the
Metro West Conference Metro West Conference is a high school athletic conference in Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 mil ...
for the second consecutive season with a 14–0 record in conference play. They would go on to win their Section and advance to the State Tournament for the first time in program history. The Hawks would be the #1 seed in the Class AAA State tournament and win their Quarterfinal game against
Alexandria High School 58–51, the next day they advanced to the State Championship game with a win over
Willmar High School Willmar may refer to:
Places
*Willmar, Minnesota, United States
** Willmar Air Force Station
**Willmar Municipal Airport
** Willmar Township, Kandiyohi County, Minnesota
* Willmars, a municipality in Bavaria, Germany
People
*Jean-Jacques Willmar ( ...
65–54. In the State Title game they would win against
Northfield High School
Northfield High School (NHS) is a comprehensive, public high school in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. The school was built in 1966, with additions in 1993 and 1997. The school hosts grades 9-12. As of 2020 there are 1,235 students and 14 ...
49-37 for the first Girls’ Basketball Championship in School History. The Hawks finished with a record of 29–2 in the 2017–18 season.
Notable alumni
*
Brother Ali
Ali Douglas Newman (born Jason Douglas Newman, July 30, 1977), better known by his stage name Brother Ali, is an American rapper, community activist, and member of the Rhymesayers Entertainment hip hop collective. He has released seven albums, ...
, artist/rapper signed to
Rhymesayers Entertainment
Rhymesayers Entertainment (sometimes abbreviated RSE) is an American independent hip-hop record label based in Minneapolis.
History
Rhymesayers Entertainment was co-founded in 1995 by Sean Daley (Slug), Anthony Davis (Ant), Musab Saad (Sab th ...
*
Douglas McCain, jihadist killed in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
*
Dan Johnson, NFL player
*
Jim Johnson, NHL player
*
Troy Kastigar,
jihadist
Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
killed in
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
*
Paul Kohls, member of Minnesota House of Representatives 2003-11
*
Lance Pitlick, NHL player
*
Steve Plasencia, distance runner, 1988 and
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
*
The Scary Guy
The Scary Guy (sometimes stylized THE SCARY GUY) (born ) is a United Kingdom-based American motivational speaker who campaigns worldwide to eliminate hate, violence, prejudice, and bullying in schools and corporations. In addition to being a tat ...
, anti-bullying advocate
*
Rashad Vaughn
Rashad DeAndre Vaughn (born August 16, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels.
High school career
For the first three years of his ...
, NBA player
*
David Webber
David R.R. Webber (born 1955) is an Information technologist specializing in applications of XML, ebXML and EDI to standards-based information exchanges. He is a senior member of the ACM since 2007.
David Webber is one of the originators of ...
, class of 1987, managed in TNA wrestling as Mortimer Plumtree
*
Rodney Williams Jr., professional basketball player
*
Steve Zahn
Steven James Zahn (; born November 13, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. His film roles include ''Reality Bites'' (1994), ''That Thing You Do!'' (1996), ''Stuart Little'' (1999), '' Shattered Glass'' (2003), ''Sahara'' (2005), '' Chicken Li ...
, actor
Steve Zahn references
/ref>
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Public high schools in Minnesota
International Baccalaureate schools in Minnesota
Educational institutions established in 1964
Schools in Hennepin County, Minnesota
1964 establishments in Minnesota