After losing his father at the beginning of high school, Cooper Mitchell began falling behind in his classes.
Until two years ago, Mitchell’s family had lived in Mooresville. But after the death of his father, his family moved to the Center Grove area looking for a fresh start, and he began taking classes at Center Grove Alternative Academy.
Mitchell had fallen behind in multiple classes after his father died.
“The grieving and mourning process was an overload of emotions,” he said.
He had to compress about three years of high school courses into two years at the academy, Mitchell said.
But the fresh start in Center Grove helped him get back on track. Part of what helped him was how the school tracked how he was doing in his classes and he was able to clearly see what progress he was making, he said.
For the last several years, Mitchell has been involved with teaching seventh-grade students at Grace Church in Moorsville. The role is one he’s fallen in love with. He enjoys being a mentor and the person others seek out for help with their problems, he said.
That role is one he wants to continue after college, and his plan is to become a social studies teacher. Social studies, especially U.S. history, is one of the classes he’s enjoyed most in high school, Cooper said.
“I loved learning about how America came to be,” he said.
He’ll be attending classes at Ivy Tech Community College this fall, with the goal of continuing his education at Taylor University.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”The Mitchell file” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Name: Cooper Mitchell
Age: 19
Parents: Debbie and Charles Mitchell
School: Center Grove Alternative Academy
College plans: Complete general studies at Ivy Tech and transfer to Taylor University
Career goals: Become a social studies teacher
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