She was forced her to stand up for herself and turned her experience into something that could help other Black women by writing “Beige Girl,” a book about a girl who is the product of a loving Black mother and loving white father.
“My daughter is beige like me and she’ll have this to keep forever, so when she has that frustrating time where she doesn’t understand why she’s being treating treated differently, she’ll always have this book as a reminder of mommy’s words to help guide her and keep her going in the right direction,” she said.
Cooley first found her love of writing as a student at Linden Charter Academy and found her way back as a teacher. Whether it was as a student or her current position as a first-grade teacher, she has found that the social connection she has experienced at Linden is unparalleled.
After attending Linden as a kid from kindergarten to eighth grade, she worked in gerontology at assisted living homes for nearly 10 years. During that time, she also worked part-time in the National Guard and found her way back to Linden to volunteer for career day or field trips.
And when she experienced a health scare and needed extra support, she knew that Linden was a place that offered exactly that in a trying time and became a teacher.
“I wasn't sure how I would like it, but I actually enjoyed a lot,” she said. “I was only probably two months pregnant, and people already were sending me stuff, checking on me, constantly reaching out. It really was a family-filled atmosphere.”
In addition to the support she received, Cooley has fond memories of her time at Linden as a student because it brought out the writer in her through short stories and led to her publishing a book.
She continued to write while working in assisted living, and her at-the-time fiancé, now husband, encouraged her to publish her work. Rather than write a children’s book, she drew from her personal experience for “Beige Girl.”
“It was a great outlet for me since I didn’t really like to speak and participate in class,” she said. “It taught me to express myself more through art in writing because I was always a very quiet student.”
Cooley now is in her fifth year at Linden as a teacher and stresses to her students to take ownership of their education. She teaches them to understand the why behind reaching a level of reading proficiency by reading a certain number of words per minute, explaining different percentages and why it will benefit them. Her impact sticks with students, as they are sure to give her an update on their words per minute when they see her years later. It’s another example of how Linden has outperformed the district for 14 years.
“It’s pretty cool that they keep up with that and they take pride in it and carry it to the next grade,” Cooley said. “I just want them to be able to take that with them beyond first grade so that they’re always aware of what they should know and what they should be learning.”
Keep up the excellent work, Mrs. Cooley!
Check out a school near you!
Linden Charter Academy
Linden Charter Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Flint, Michigan, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
Visit Linden Charter Academy's blog to read more stories like this.