Matt Cooper came to Crossroads by way of Pittsburgh, Sweden, and decades of teaching at the college and high school level. He weaves his international experiences and love for languages into his AP Literature and 10th grade World Literature 2 classes.
“I was called the “Amerikan Lektor” in Sweden, where I lived for three years,” he says. “Their language is fundamentally different than ours, which I find fascinating.” He hopes to bring his family to visit Sweden in the coming years, where some of his best friends still live.
While Matt was not very familiar with Crossroads during his 20 years in St. Louis, he appreciates the school’s commitment to racial and social equity. “It feels right to me.”
Coming to Crossroads from Lindbergh High School’s PEGS program for gifted students, Matt was accustomed to teaching strong students, but he adds that students in his AP Lit course at Crossroads are “firing on all cylinders. Each student is very engaged and motivated to do their best work.”
Matt lives in Affton with his wife Ivy (who is an Art History professor at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville) and their two children, a daughter and son. In addition to writing (he has published a novel, Ground Lines, and poetry) and indoctrinating his son into all Pittsburgh sports fandom, he is an avid gardener. With four beds in his yard and growing, “I will be the perfect old man puttering around the garden.”