Our School

Brief History

Anna Julia Cooper Episcopal School has now completed two school years. We started with 25 students in 5th and 6th grades in September of 2009 and grew to 35 students in the fall of 2010. We added a new 6th grade class in the fall of 2011, bringing our total enrollment to 52.

Program

Our school day begins with prayer, breakfast and announcements. Most of our core curriculum is covered in the morning. Grades are divided into boys and girls' sections and alternate between Math, Science, History & English. We eat a hot lunch together; then our afternoons incorporate a mix of PE, Art, Music, Improv, Relgious Education and Spanish, as well as supplemental math & reading. Every Friday afternoon our community gathers for a chapel service. We are blessed with many gifted volunteers who come in for individual tutoring, mentoring and leading electives. The school day ends at 3:30, then an extended day program continues in-house, where students work on their homework and participate in a variety of other activities.

During the summer, students participate in Math and English enrichment weeks here at the school as well as overnight camp experiences like Camp Alkulana and Jacob's Ladder. We also offer in-house day camps in basketball, art, cooking & games and music.

Mission

Anna Julia Cooper Episcopal School is an independent, tuition-free, faith-based middle school for students of limited resources primarily from Richmond’s East End neighborhood.

Through a program focused on academic, social, and spiritual development, we help students set their sights on college and responsible citizenship. Parent support and volunteers are integral to our success both as a School and a community of affection. Helping to ensure that our students are on a path toward a full and decent life is our fundamental reason for being here.

Philosophy

Anna Julia Cooper Episcopal School believes that education deepens life. True education instills a sense of mystery and wonder and a love for God and our neighbor. Education is essentially liberating. It helps us discern the right path and to follow it. This is freedom: having the strength of mind to love and serve. We believe that every child is created for this freedom and the education which helps brings it about. God sustains us in this pursuit and the example of Jesus remains our highest standard.

Goal

The Anna Cooper Episcopal School works to prepare graduates who:

excel academically;
persevere in the face of challenges;
care for themselves and each other; and
become leaders in their homes and communities.

The School’s small classes, structured support, extended school days, and religious foundation provide academic, social, and spiritual instruction in a nurturing environment. We challenge students to discover and develop the fullness of their individual gifts, a challenge we exhort them to meet through their own hard work. We seek to prepare graduates who will contribute actively to the society they will inherit. And while we honor individual achievement, we value most deeply those contributions which make the community stronger.

We also believe that the Anna Julia Cooper Episcopal School is a community which equally benefits its students and those who provide the resources to make it possible.