Mister Cooper


Rave Reviews “Thank you for the musically enriching experiences you have created for our students here at Sutterville. We have truly benefited from your professional demeanor, musical expertise, generosity, and wonderful way with kids. Thank you!” - Lori Aoun - Principal of Sutterville Elementary School “Mr. Cooper's music program has been a wonderful addition to the curriculum at Tiny Tot Time. Ken brings a repertoire of songs that reinforce the pre-Kindergarten standards. The children look forward to our half-hour music session. The songs teach life lessons and values while at the same time providing entertainment. Mr. Cooper writes songs for important events and issues within the community. Ken's commitment and creativity are unparalleled and greatly appreciated by children and parents alike.” - Rachael Hinrichsen, Director of Tiny Tot Time Land Park (Sacramento, California) "I would highly recommend all of Ken Cooper's curriculum-based music programs. Sutterville counts him as one of our teachers and credits him with providing some of the depth and breadth that made our school a distinguished school in 2005-06." - Diane Shada, former Sutterville Principal "Ken Cooper has been teaching and entertaining our Kindergartners for the past twelve years. What Ken saw as a musical deficit in our program has turned into a delightful weekly musical program. The Kindergarten Sing program has become much more than a music program. It is directly linked to the California Reading Standards and the reading standards of the Sacramento City Unified School District. Ken has aligned his music program to provide phonemic awareness (the ability to hear sounds) through song to all kindergarten children at Sutterville, John Cabrillo, and Bret Harte Elementary Schools. His curriculum has been coordinated to enhance that of Open Court. It addresses individual needs by meeting one more learning style that sometimes gets overlooked. In addition, Ken makes the curriculum fun while keeping the students focused and participating. Our curriculum would not be as rich without him. And, more importantly, our student's educations would not be as well-rounded. He is a joy to work with and observe. We think of him more as a colleague than just an Artist-in-Residence." - Sutterville Kindergarten teachers "Mr. Cooper's Kindergarten Sing program helps to address the needs of ELL learners and special needs students as well as providing curriculum support to all of the children." - John Cabrillo Kindergarten teachers "Mr. Ken Cooper recently conducted a three-day workshop about the history of Jazz and Blues music for my sixth grade class at Sutterville Elementary School. This workshop was directly related to our core language arts curriculum because our Open Court unit, entitled "Beyond The Notes," consisted of stories and poems about music. Mr. Cooper's presentations allowed my students to experience the sounds of a variety of musical legends such as Duke Ellington, B.B. King, and Ray Charles. Mr. Cooper provided pictures of different artists, video and audio clips of their performances, examples of actual instruments, and a live personal rendition or two. Students were also challenged to write their own verses of the "Homework Blues." As a culmination to our workshop, Mr. Cooper and some fellow musicians gave a live performance at our school which included some of the songs we learned about as well as "The Homework Blues," which incorporated some of the lyrics created by my students. I feel that his presentations were very informative and relevant to our classroom curriculum. I recommend his program to anyone seeking "real lessons" that students will not experience through their textbooks alone." - Gary Sekikawa, Sutterville teacher "I have had the pleasure of working with Mr. Cooper as our Artist-in-Residence for the past six years. My class really enjoys his "Going West - Songs of the 1800s" program. The songs reinforce the subject matter contained in the Open Court unit "Going West" and the students especially had fun writing tall tales with Mr. Cooper. Always asking for feedback, he crafts a program tailored to the needs of current students. He is mindful of the teacher's busy schedule and does his best to accommodate us. As a fifth grade GATE teacher, I appreciate the fact that he will work with me on essay requirements and expectations. The 'Going West' Unit has become one of my favorites thanks to Mr. Cooper's ability to bring the curriculum alive for the students while getting everyone actively involved." - Mitch Carnie, Sutterville teacher "Everyone in the preschool looks forward to Mr. Cooper coming once a week. His program is not only fun but also a learning experience that builds social skills, confidence, and self esteem." - Sally Baker, head of Sutterville Parent Ed. Preschool "Ken Cooper's music programs have delighted kindergartners through rhythm and words and captivated intermediate students with songs steeped in our state and national history. With his unique approach, Ken tickles the funny bone and touches the imagination, all while instilling in students a life-long love of music and learning." - Dinorah Hall, former Sutterville PTA president "I would like to thank you for everything you do for Sutterville. Your musical efforts enrich the lives of so many children. They will all grow up and still remember you and what you've meant to them!" - Denay DeGuzman, former Sutterville PTA president Achievements - Creator of original curriculum based music programs for elementary schools including Kindergarten Sing, 1st and 2nd Grade Sing, Gold Rush in Song, Music in Wartime: Uses of Music During the Civil War, Going West - Songs of the 1880’s, Back to the Notes and co-creator of Poetry and Song Project - Emergency 30 Day Teaching Credential (1998 to present) - Creator and presenter of the Sing-a-Long Club with Mister Cooper after-school music program (2008 - present) - Creator and presenter of the Read Along - Sing Along summer reading program for the Sacramento Public Library (2008) - Creator and presenter of the Musical Kids weeklong educational music camp at Fairytale Town in Sacramento, CA. (2008) - Recipient of 2003 Crocker Art Museum School Services Grant - Recipient of 2001-2002 Sacramento City Educational Foundation Mini-Grant for Music in Wartime: Uses of Music During the Civil War - Recipient of 1999-2000 Sacramento City Educational Foundation Mini-Grant for Gold Rush in Song - Recipient of 1998 IBM Funds for Community Service Grant for Poetry and Song Project - Performs locally with the music group “The Loose Acoustic Trio”

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Rave Reviews

“Thank you for the musically enriching experiences you have created for our students here at Sutterville. We have truly benefited from your professional demeanor, musical expertise, generosity, and wonderful way with kids. Thank you!”
- Lori Aoun - Principal of Sutterville Elementary School

“Mr. Cooper's music program has been a wonderful addition to the curriculum at Tiny Tot Time. Ken brings a repertoire of songs that reinforce the pre-Kindergarten standards. The children look forward to our half-hour music session. The songs teach life lessons and values while at the same time providing entertainment. Mr. Cooper writes songs for important events and issues within the community. Ken's commitment and creativity are unparalleled and greatly appreciated by children and parents alike.”
- Rachael Hinrichsen, Director of Tiny Tot Time Land Park (Sacramento, California)

"I would highly recommend all of Ken Cooper's curriculum-based music programs. Sutterville counts him as one of our teachers and credits him with providing some of the depth and breadth that made our school a distinguished school in 2005-06."
- Diane Shada, former Sutterville Principal

"Ken Cooper has been teaching and entertaining our Kindergartners for the past twelve years. What Ken saw as a musical deficit in our program has turned into a delightful weekly musical program. The Kindergarten Sing program has become much more than a music program. It is directly linked to the California Reading Standards and the reading standards of the Sacramento City Unified School District. Ken has aligned his music program to provide phonemic awareness (the ability to hear sounds) through song to all kindergarten children at Sutterville, John Cabrillo, and Bret Harte Elementary Schools. His curriculum has been coordinated to enhance that of Open Court. It addresses individual needs by meeting one more learning style that sometimes gets overlooked.

In addition, Ken makes the curriculum fun while keeping the students focused and participating. Our curriculum would not be as rich without him. And, more importantly, our student's educations would not be as well-rounded. He is a joy to work with and observe. We think of him more as a colleague than just an Artist-in-Residence."
- Sutterville Kindergarten teachers

"Mr. Cooper's Kindergarten Sing program helps to address the needs of ELL learners and special needs students as well as providing curriculum support to all of the children."
- John Cabrillo Kindergarten teachers

"Mr. Ken Cooper recently conducted a three-day workshop about the history of Jazz and Blues music for my sixth grade class at Sutterville Elementary School. This workshop was directly related to our core language arts curriculum because our Open Court unit, entitled "Beyond The Notes," consisted of stories and poems about music. Mr. Cooper's presentations allowed my students to experience the sounds of a variety of musical legends such as Duke Ellington, B.B. King, and Ray Charles. Mr. Cooper provided pictures of different artists, video and audio clips of their performances, examples of actual instruments, and a live personal rendition or two. Students were also challenged to write their own verses of the "Homework Blues." As a culmination to our workshop, Mr. Cooper and some fellow musicians gave a live performance at our school which included some of the songs we learned about as well as "The Homework Blues," which incorporated some of the lyrics created by my students. I feel that his presentations were very informative and relevant to our classroom curriculum. I recommend his program to anyone seeking "real lessons" that students will not experience through their textbooks alone."
- Gary Sekikawa, Sutterville teacher

"I have had the pleasure of working with Mr. Cooper as our Artist-in-Residence for the past six years. My class really enjoys his "Going West - Songs of the 1800s" program. The songs reinforce the subject matter contained in the Open Court unit "Going West" and the students especially had fun writing tall tales with Mr. Cooper. Always asking for feedback, he crafts a program tailored to the needs of current students. He is mindful of the teacher's busy schedule and does his best to accommodate us. As a fifth grade GATE teacher, I appreciate the fact that he will work with me on essay requirements and expectations. The 'Going West' Unit has become one of my favorites thanks to Mr. Cooper's ability to bring the curriculum alive for the students while getting everyone actively involved."
- Mitch Carnie, Sutterville teacher

"Everyone in the preschool looks forward to Mr. Cooper coming once a week. His program is not only fun but also a learning experience that builds social skills, confidence, and self esteem."
- Sally Baker, head of Sutterville Parent Ed. Preschool

"Ken Cooper's music programs have delighted kindergartners through rhythm and words and captivated intermediate students with songs steeped in our state and national history. With his unique approach, Ken tickles the funny bone and touches the imagination, all while instilling in students a life-long love of music and learning."
- Dinorah Hall, former Sutterville PTA president

"I would like to thank you for everything you do for Sutterville. Your musical efforts enrich the lives of so many children. They will all grow up and still remember you and what you've meant to them!"
- Denay DeGuzman, former Sutterville PTA president

Achievements

- Creator of original curriculum based music programs for elementary schools including Kindergarten Sing, 1st and 2nd Grade Sing, Gold Rush in Song, Music in Wartime: Uses of Music During the Civil War, Going West - Songs of the 1880’s, Back to the Notes and co-creator of Poetry and Song Project

- Emergency 30 Day Teaching Credential (1998 to present)

- Creator and presenter of the Sing-a-Long Club with Mister Cooper after-school music program (2008 - present)

- Creator and presenter of the Read Along - Sing Along summer reading program for the Sacramento Public Library (2008)

- Creator and presenter of the Musical Kids weeklong educational music camp at Fairytale Town in Sacramento, CA. (2008)

- Recipient of 2003 Crocker Art Museum School Services Grant

- Recipient of 2001-2002 Sacramento City Educational Foundation Mini-Grant
for Music in Wartime: Uses of Music During the Civil War

- Recipient of 1999-2000 Sacramento City Educational Foundation Mini-Grant
for Gold Rush in Song

- Recipient of 1998 IBM Funds for Community Service Grant for Poetry and
Song Project

- Performs locally with the music group “The Loose Acoustic Trio”

LAT