Party Affiliation
No Party or group affiliation
Education
• Graduated in 1974 – Templeton – Vancouver
• Completed a Carpentry Apprenticeship at Pacific Vocational Institute 1974 - 1978
• Attended UBC – took courses in Technical Education 1979 – 1982
• Construction Management courses
Occupation
• Career Builder 1974 to present
• Taught Technical – Education in School District # 42 1983 -84
Previous Political Experience
• Although I have always been keenly interested in Politics I have never joined a political party, organization or ran in an election
Residency
• Mission ( Stave Falls area )
Community Involvement
• Other than trying to be a good citizen and neighbor in the Stave Falls neighborhood I have not had any direct community involvement in Mission ( I moved here in 2008 )
• I have however been a Chamber member and have coached numerous baseball , soccer and hockey teams in Maple Ridge while my kids were growing up
• I also give out a yearly “ Woodworkers Award “ to the top woodworking student as chosen by the Tech. Ed. teachers in School District # 42 .
• Through my company I have helped numerous young people with their career choices and some cases sponsored them as apprentices and mentored them while they completed their studies
• I have also worked with the “ Work Experience Coordinators “ in School District 42 to help students get valuable pre-graduation work experience
Marital Status
• Married for 36 years
• Two grown children and one grandchild
• Coop54@telus.net
Website
• philipcooper.ca
What are the two key education issues Mission Voters should be considering when choosing Trustee representatives in this civic election?
My strengths would be my ability to work within the system in order to help get the students get a leg up with respect to getting the skills required to help them succeed in today's world. I would use my experience and networking abilities to help them get the necessary skills in a variety of disciplines so that they hit the ground running upon graduation. My people skillset and 40 years in the business world of construction, would be helpful to the Board of Education. It appears to me that the school board could use some diversity and experiences that would in turn, deliver a direct benefit the Kids.
The voters should also understand that the old models don’t seem to be working very well in some cases. We have to be engaged with not only the community but with the business community. We need options and choices for the Kids that an Outdoor Based Educational Model would offer. The District of Mission is blessed with an abundance of Natural Resources, we are in the enviable position of being the Stewarts of our Forests as the District is one of two communities in the entire province that manages their own forest dept. It is imperative that we channel some of our Kids in this direction so that they can become the future care takers of our resources. We also own a boarded up school in Stave Falls that would be ideal for this use as its built and paid for by the taxpayers, but not currently being used.
Here is an opportunity to open up a building that has many sustainable features, that is surrounded by forests, within walking distance to three water sheds and would, in many peoples opinion, be a perfect fit for this type of Educational Model. One would not have to look very far to find some Corporate Sponsors as there is an Independent Power producer and BC Hydro that are currently operating in the Stave River system.
We need now and in the future-skilled trades, engineers, scientists, biologists, foresters and citizens with people skills, this would be the type of environment that would foster these strengths in our students.
Both the Kids and the Community would benefit from this approach that I would strongly support if I was chosen to serve as a School Trustee for the Mission School Board.