In the closing weeks of the 2009-2010 school year, the assistant principals at both Cooper and London Middle Schools were awarded principalships in schools outside School District 21. Following search processes in each school, the Board of Education of School District 21 is pleased to announce Robert Gurney as the new assistant principal at Cooper Middle School and Diana O'Donnell as the new assistant principal at London Middle School.

In addition to serving as a high school mathematics teacher both in the Chicago Public Schools and at Stevenson High School, Mr. Gurney has served middle school students in District 21 at London and at Cooper as core teacher, a math resource teacher, and for the past two years at Cooper, as the Dean of Students. Mr. Gurney earned his Bachelor's Degree at Purdue University and his Master's Degree from Northeastern Illinois University.

Like Mr. Gurney, Ms. O'Donnell has taught at both Cooper and London in District 21 in addition to serving for a number of years as a Middle School Instructional Specialist in all three District 21 middle schools working with students, teachers, and administrators. Additionally, Ms. O'Donnell has served as a consultant working in schools throughout the country, taught at the collegiate level, and she has taught middle school in Barrington. Ms. O'Donnell earned her Bachelor's Degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Master's Degrees from Illinois State University.

Mr. Gurney and Ms. O'Donnell both bring a strong understanding of middle school students as well a deep passion for ensuring that student assessment is used to create differentiated and engaging instruction for all students during sixth, seventh, and eighth grades.