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Principal leaves legacy of learning and listening Sycamore Elementary School Principal Tom Cooper is retiring after 17 years of service to the oldest school in the Claremont. There will be a tribute in an afternoon celebration at the Sycamore Courtyard honoring his work at the school this Friday. The retirement party begins at 2:30 p.m. and will contain cake, music and special presentations. “I am going to miss the day-to-day excitement of being involved in a highly interactive place where each teacher and each student can be who they are,” he said on Monday. “I am going to miss developing big ideas and seeing them go to completion. I will miss the smiles of the kids and looking out to the courtyard. I will miss the staff who works so hard and their professionalism. When you go through something like this, you miss everything.”
“I found Sycamore and Sycamore found me,” Mr. Cooper explained. “It's stimulating and exciting to work with creative staff and enthusiastic students. The parents come up with amazing things to support the kids. Along the way, I've learned extremely valuable lessons. One of the things I learned is that the less you try to control, the more influence you will have. You learn to listen to all the voices there in order to make more informed and sound decisions.” Before coming to Sycamore, Mr. Cooper served as a principal in the Orange Unified School District. His educational career has taken him from the hillsides to the inner city and beyond. Even during his teaching days, the Sycamore principal was a strong advocate for multi-age learning, allowing students to take a prominent role in guiding their own learning and encouraging students to express their learning in a variety of ways. Mr. Cooper supports the “Multiple Intelligences” approach by psychologist Howard Gardner—an approach emphasizing teaching and assessment according to a student's strongest learning style. “Kids are more savvy today and we need to be creative and innovative to keep them engaged,” Mr. Cooper said. “We have to use all of the intelligences to keep them stimulated. I believe that all kids can learn and there are options for all kids to foster their learning. We need to provide the resources for them to be successful in their pursuits.” Though Mr. Cooper will no longer be principal of Sycamore after this Friday, he plans to take what he learned to pass on to others. Longtime CUSD educator Chuck Freitas will serve as interim principal while the search begins for Sycamore's new principal. “I look forward to taking what I've learned and sharing it with others through consulting, writing and teaching,” Mr. Cooper said. “I'm proud of what I've done here and I know that I've touched lives and that the people here at Sycamore have touched my life. The greatest thing I can do is to bring with me some of the Sycamore spirit so that can be implanted elsewhere. Sycamore is an inspiring place.” Mr. Cooper believes Sycamore will continue to grow and prosper due to the strong school community. The Sycamore principal said he wants to be a part of the community in the future. “Sycamore will always be Sycamore because of the values and traditions that were here before I even came,” he said. “And it will stay strong, it just needs someone to guide it.” —Landus Rigsby |
