Cooper joins Vestavia Hills school staff

When Antonio Cooper arrived on the Alcorn State campus, he came with plans to play football and be a pre-pharmacy major.

However, during his college days, he realized quickly he enjoyed helping people, especially children.

“I like to see the lightbulb turn on in others,” Cooper said. “I wanted to be in a career where, for the rest of my life, I would see the lightbulb turn on.”

Cooper earned his degree in elementary education, then got his master’s degree and then his doctorate. This fall, he joined the staff of Vestavia Hills City Schools as the new director of curriculum and instruction.

“I felt led here,” Cooper said. “It’s an opportunity for growth professionally for me as well.”

Cooper was born and raised in Birmingham but moved to Mississippi to attend Alcorn State on a football scholarship. He stayed in Mississippi for several years after graduating, working as a teacher and coach in various Mississippi schools.

“Those were the glory times,” Cooper said of his time coaching football.

Cooper’s first child was born while he and his wife were living in Vicksburg, and he realized that being more than 4 hours away from home wouldn’t work anymore. He took a job as the principal at Walker Elementary School in Tuscaloosa and was there for a few years before joining the central office staff as the coordinator of student services for Tuscaloosa County Schools, where he worked prior to joining the Vestavia school system.

In his previous central office role, Cooper said he was like a “Swiss Army Knife,” overseeing multiple programs and initiatives.

Cooper said the community and other staff in Vestavia have been supportive so far.

“Everybody is on board and works together,” he said.

Cooper said the leadership in the Vestavia system reminds him of the “Dream Team,” a reference to the 1992 U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team, which won the gold medal and is considered one of the greatest sports teams ever assembled.

“Everybody is talented on their own, but when you put them together, magical things happen,” Cooper said.

So far, Cooper said he’s enjoyed spending time in all eight of the Vestavia schools, getting to know the students and employees.

“I feel like what I am doing ultimately is directly impacting our students,” he said.

In his new role, Cooper oversees the school’s federal programs and funding for those programs, as well as handling professional development, school safety, at-risk funding and social and emotional learning. Cooper also oversees career and technical development, helping high school students realize they don’t have to “graduate and leave,” as well as working to develop relationships between the school system and local businesses. He also oversees enrollment, residency and attendance.

In regard to students, Cooper said he wants to help them see themselves as adults and prepare them for the rest of their lives.

“That’s my ultimate goal: to put them on that platform to be able to see beyond their situation and circumstances, or see with their situation and circumstances, the options that they have available to them, and just being a part of that process,” Cooper said.

While he’s in his first year at Vestavia, Cooper said his goal is to not only get acclimated to his new surroundings, but to be effective at his job and grow in his professional development as well.

“I don’t want to use this year as an excuse to just ‘get my feet wet,’” Cooper said. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have wanted to be brought here. I want to be as effective as I can during my first year.”