Growing Up — Peter Cooper Dual Language Academy

Our Foundation

Faith in Christ is the root of this work.

We chose the tree of life as our mark on purpose. Growing Up exists because we believe every child at Cooper is known and loved by God, and that showing up for them — with a whistle, a ride, a jersey, a Saturday morning — is one small, real way of living that out. This isn't a program with faith attached to it. Faith is why the program exists at all.

"...and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."Revelation 22:2

Project Brief

A neighborhood built on strength, stretched thin on resources.

The Peter Cooper Dual Language Academy is a K‑8 elementary school located in Pilsen, on the lower west side of Chicago. Nestled between a strong community and a rich history, its colorful mosaic of prominent community figures reflects the charm of those within its walls.

Cooper's families are the working-class, majority-immigrant core of a neighborhood that in recent years has become increasingly difficult to afford. 9 out of 10 students at Cooper are economically disadvantaged, a figure that places their need in the top 10% of schools in Illinois. For context, this figure is more than double the 40% low-income threshold Illinois uses to classify a school as a "Title I Schoolwide." Ultimately, Cooper is a higher-need school within a financially exhausted CPS school district that's already serving a low-resource population citywide.

Underfunded would be an understatement.

9/10

Cooper students are economically disadvantaged

Top 10%

of need among all schools in Illinois

2x+

the 40% threshold Illinois uses to classify a "Title I Schoolwide" school

How This Started

A service day that turned into a needs assessment.

St. Clement partnered with Cooper for a service day in April, helping to remove rotting garden beds alongside members of the community, eventually getting a tour around at the end.

Though certainly a vibrant and tight-knit community — with the vast majority of its dedicated teachers having taught there for 20+ years — it also lacks the fundamental resources for services integral to childhood development, including support of a sports program.

"That became clear to me in the tour and in talking with Maricella Torres, Cooper's fearless principal."

Going through her children's surveys and a holistic needs assessment, one problem became increasingly obvious.

St. Clement volunteers gathered outside Cooper Academy on service day

ST. CLEMENT × COOPER — SERVICE DAY, APRIL

Why It Matters Now

The case for sport, by the numbers.

It's no secret that increased sports participation has proven positive long-term effects on bodily health, stress levels, prosocial behavior, academic performance, mental well-being, and other conditions that transition into adulthood. We know this from our own childhoods firsthand — some of our early life's greatest mentors have been coaches, and some of our greatest childhood memories are on a field or on the court.

2.1The Cost Barrier

2.2The Access Gap

2.3The Case for Sport

2.1

Youth sports has priced out the families who need it most.

While the developmental payoff of youth sports is well documented, the cost of playing has risen 46% since 2019¹ — nearly twice the U.S. inflation rate over the same period. What a family paid to keep one child in one sport has gone from about $693 a year to over $1,000.

Average annual cost, per child, one sport

$693

2019

$1,016

2024

↑ 46% in five years¹

Youth sports economy, annually

$40B

moves through youth sports each year in the U.S. — nearly double the NFL's annual revenue⁵

70% of youth athletes quit organized sports by age 13⁵

2.2

Cooper's kids sit in the fastest-widening access gap in the country.

In 2023, kids from the lowest-income homes played sports at merely half the rate of kids from the highest-income homes², and are more than three times as likely to be physically inactive as their higher-income peers³.

Cooper's kids sit in the demographic facing the largest and fastest-widening sports access gap in the country. They are also the group that will benefit most from closing it.

2023 Participation Rate, by Income

Highest-income householdsBaseline

Lowest-income householdsHalf the rate

Kids from the lowest-income homes are 3x as likely to be physically inactive.³

Income participation gap, widening

2012

13.6 pts

2024

20.2 pts

The gap between wealthiest and poorest kids' regular play has grown every year since.²

2.3

Sport is one of the highest-leverage things a kid can do.

Regular physical activity is linked to improved academic performance, better brain health, and reduced symptoms of depression in school-aged children⁸. Nationally, students who earn mostly A's are far more likely to play on a sports team than students who earn mostly D's and F's.

High schoolers who play on a sports team, by grades

66%

Mostly A's

42%

Mostly D's/F's

Team sport and top grades track together nationally.⁷

What sport is linked to, in kids

Improved cognition, memory & academic performance⁸
Reduced symptoms of depression⁸
Stronger bones, muscles & long-term health⁸

...a credit to all who have innovated to improve access to quality sports programs.

Tom Farrey, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program — Project Play, State of Play 2025⁴

In December 2025, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held Congress's first-ever hearing dedicated to the youth sports access crisis, titled "Benched: The Crisis in American Youth Sports and Its Cost to Our Future."⁶ The message from researchers, coaches and lawmakers alike: this gap isn't closing on its own, and it isn't waiting for anyone to catch up.

Introducing

Growing Up (project name, name WIP)

There has never been a team in school history, but history is about to change. By providing access to volunteer coaches, new equipment, uniforms, and team organization, Growing Up hopes to bridge the gap between sufficient resources and kids' health.

Cooper now seeks to enter the 2026 CPS SCORE! fall sports season alongside local schools in the league. This, however, is only possible with some help.

Teams

Girls' teams entering the league

Teams

Boys' teams entering the league

Sports

Soccer & Volleyball

Played against local CPS schools

Season

Fall 2026

CPS SCORE! league

A boy balances a soccer ball on his head in front of a colorful mural — THE GAME COOPER'S KIDS ARE ASKING FOR

A high school volleyball team huddled together after a match — THE KIND OF TEAM MOMENT WE'RE BUILDING TOWARD

Get Involved

Our most immediate need: volunteer coaches.

Coaches will serve from September to late October, twice a week — one practice and one game.

A volunteer coach teaches a group of kids how to set a volleyball

WHAT COACHING LOOKS LIKE — ONE PRACTICE, ONE GAME, A WEEK

Sign up

Volunteers sign up through the Cooper Volunteer Interest Form.

By September 1

Get verified

Get registered through the CPS process. Registration fees are covered.

2–4 weeks to clear

Begin coaching

One practice and one game a week, once cleared through the CPS process.

September – late October

25–30 hrs

Total service commitment

4–6 wks

Over this timeframe

3–5

Coaches wanted per team

Optimally, we will have 3–5 coaches per team from within and outside the community, creating flexibility given our ever-changing availabilities. Ultimately, service opportunities like this are as exciting as they are impactful on the childhoods of these student players. Making time and sacrificing comfort to serve these little ones will have not only an exponential return in their lives but also for the volunteers themselves.

Ready to Sign Up?

See the Cooper Volunteer Interest Form for full details on the coaching ask, timing, and what CPS clearance involves.

Open Volunteer Form ↗

Can't Coach?

There's more than one way to help.

Those looking to help but unable to volunteer may also donate equipment to the sports program, finance the uniforms and registration fees, send meals and snacks for teams, or sign up to coach future sports.

Donate equipment to the sports program
Finance uniforms and registration fees
Send meals and snacks for teams
Sign up to coach future sports

Most Urgent Equipment Needs

Used soccer cleats ⚽
Soccer / volleyballs 🏐
Water bottles 💧

Cooper students raising their hands in class

Looking Ahead

The immediate results — and the future — are equally compelling.

01—03

A foundation to grow in good company

By connecting playful kids with both proper equipment and new mentors, we provide them a foundation to grow naturally in good company. We envision the improved recess experience, physical education classes, after-school practices, games, and competition that follow will have a positive effect on academics, health outcomes, and the community as a whole in 2026. Kids will spend more time connecting with each other, life outdoors, and in the constructive presence of new role models.

A young soccer player high-fives an adult mentor after a match

NEW ROLE MODELS, ON AND OFF THE FIELD

A ministry, not just a program

At a wider level, Growing Up is to officially become a nonprofit whose ministry is to restore the fields of connection between children and their Source, putting faith in Christ at the center of our work. Connecting more disadvantaged kids with the resources they deserve remains the focus, extending to better food and healthier learning environments.

A model built to last

Creating replicable and sustainable models of needs assessment, grant writing, problem-solving, and volunteer partnerships is our strategy — providing services that don't get lost in directionless government spending or in unending committees, but whose resources go straight to a better future for our little ones.

There has never
been a team in
school history.