Herricks loses its biggest booster

Richard Tedesco

If you cut Dave Cooper, he probably would probably bleed Herricks schools blue and white.

After attending school in the Herricks School District for 13 years, Cooper earned a bachelors degree in math education at SUNY Fredonia and then went on teach mathematics at Herricks High School for 42 years before retiring in June.

“I can think of few people who have spent their whole careers in the same schools they attended as students. David lived and breathed Herricks schools” Herricks Superintendent of Schools John Bierwirth said. 

Cooper said he is proud of his tenure at Herricks.

“Somebody else might have taught more years than I did, but I have them beat,” said the 64-year-old New Hyde Park resident.

And, he said, the quality of his time at Herricks was as important as the quantity.

“It was a great place to be. I enjoyed it. I worked hard,” he said. “Aside from teaching them math, I taught life skills as well. Until the day I put my [retirement] papers in, I enjoyed working with the kids.”

And while technology and culture changed over his tenure, he said he didn’t see much change in his students.

“The kids at Herricks have always been pretty sophisticated. That didn’t change,” he said. “They were always very motivated.”

Cooper said he knew from the age of 12 or 13 years old when he was a student in the Herricks school district that he wanted to become a teacher because of the influence they had on people’s lives.

Then, during a semester break from Fredonia in his senior year of college, he spent time observing teachers in Herricks High School classrooms. 

He wrote a letter of thanks to then math department chair Richard Dunham for the experience.

Impressed by the letter, according to Cooper, Dunham called Cooper’s mother and asked her to have her son call him after he finished his undergraduate work.

Cooper called Dunham after graduating in May 1971 and was hired to start teaching at Herricks High in September 1971. He later earned a masters degree in education while teaching at Herricks.

One of his new colleagues was Erwin Gerung, who had taught him math when he was a student and continued to teach him when he became a teacher.

“He was very professional. He worked me really, really hard,” Cooper said.

Cooper said it would take him a few years before he could address Gerung by his first name.

Cooper said his teaching style at Herricks was also strongly influenced by Frank Olsen, the math chairman at Fredonia. 

He said he never forgot his teacher’s response when he thanked Olsen before leaving Fredonia: “Just remember the time I gave to you and give that to your students.”

Cooper said he acted on that advice and the result is a folder full of letters from students expressing thanks for the time he spent with them. 

He had more than 30 student teachers over the years, including one student of his at Herricks who became a teacher, he said.

“That was especially cool,” he said. “I wanted to pass that on. And many of them are still teaching.”

Two of his former student teachers, Steve Alizio and Jeremy Cohen, are now teachers at Herricks High School.

He said he thinks of them as “the sons I never had.” 

Cooper said he maintained that attitude even after he announced his retirement.

He said he thanked students who wanted him to stay and promised them he’d be around to write them letters of recommendation for college next year. He said he also promised them he’d be at their graduation, where he hopes he can join the faculty procession in cap and gown.

“I always kept my promises with them. It’s important to be honest with them,” he said.

Cooper said he also tried to apply some of the lessons of being a student at Herricks to his teaching there.

Recalling how much he hated to wait for test results when he was in school, Cooper recalled that he frequently stayed up late at night grading papers so his students would have the results promptly. Grading tests became more time-consuming when he began teaching Advanced Placement courses in 1980.

“That material is not easy,” Cooper said. “At that level the kids were really smart.”  

He said he was well rewarded for his efforts.

Some days, he recalled not feeling well as was walking into class. But as soon as he entered the room, he said, “it made me come alive.”

That, he said, was partly the result of the familiarity he developed with students who would often be eager to share some personal events in their lives before the day’s lessons began. So he would patiently listen and say, “Thank you for sharing. Sharing is caring.” 

Apart from teaching he also assisted with the Mathletes team for several years and was also advisor for the Chess Club.

“They needed someone to spend time with the kids,” he said.

He said his reputation among students was, “He’s tough. But he’s fair and he cares.”

Two daughters he and his wife, Rosalie, also a teacher, raised followed in their footsteps. 

Their oldest daughter, Jennifer, teaches elementary school in Jamaica, Queens, while their younger daughter, Melissa, teaches autistic children in Hauppauge.

In his retirement, Cooper said he’s planning to take some film courses “for fun.” He said he also may teach aspiring teachers at Adelphi and Hofstra universities.

He said he’s also planning to read, watch old movies and revisit another favorite pastime from his younger years – building model airplanes and battleships.

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