Fox Chapel Area HS Teacher Named 2015 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year

Mairi Cooper was selected as the Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year for 2015 after after beating 13 other finalists for the award.

Cooper was honored with the award during the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Keystone Awards of Excellence, according to TribLive.com. She has been with the district for 14 years and will now compete for National Teacher of the Year.

Cooper, an orchestra teacher, teaches a number of classes at Fox Chapel Area High School, including advanced placement music theory, orchestra, piano and world music, and directs the high school orchestra and chairs the music department, TribLive.com reports. The Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year award winner earned both her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in music from the University of Rochester.

Cooper is a member of numerous educational associations, including the National Association for Music Education, the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association and the Pennsylvania-Delaware String Teachers Association, according to TribLive.com. The orchestra teacher previously served as an adjunct faculty member at Duquesne University and Carnegie Mellon University and served part-time at Seton Hill University.

To read more about Mairi Cooper and her award for 2015 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year, visit TribLive.com.