GREEN RIVER — Sweetwater County School District No. 2’s new superintendent introduced himself to the Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners Tuesday morning, speaking about his move to Green River and his 90-day action plan.

Scott Cooper replaced Craig Barringer as the district’s superintendent in July. Barringer, who initially planned to retire following his departure from SCSD No. 2, was appointed to be the deputy superintendent for Montana’s Office of Public Instruction.

Cooper said he comes to Green River from the western slope of Colorado, where he’s led both small and large school districts, as well as career and technical education programs. 

Cooper said is happy with his move to Green River.

“This community is amazing, that was a big selling point on behalf of my research when I was looking at school districts,” he said. “Very strong community here, very warm and welcoming.”

Cooper said strong community support creates a strong school district.

With his 90-day action plan, Cooper said a big part of it is communication and reaching out to different groups and stakeholders. Cooper said he and the district can be successful if he keeps those lines of communication open and reports to groups like the commissioners on a regular basis. Cooper said the district revamped its website to make it easy to connect with his office. 

Communication is one of our huge, important pillars of our strategic plan.

Scott Cooper, Superintendent of Sweetwater County School District No. 2

“If you send me a voice mail, it automatically goes to my email – it links to my phone so I can get back to you very quickly,” he said.

Improved communication on the website also extends to the district’s board meetings. Cooper said there is a direct link on the website to let people watch the school board meetings live, saying the previous process on the district’s website involved multiple steps. Cooper said he and the school board discussed the importance of maintaining good communication and enhancing communication to the community to explain initiatives and goals.

“Communication is one of our huge, important pillars of our strategic plan,” Cooper said.

With the new school year starting Aug. 20, Cooper said he has anticipated the day since being selected in March. He said the district has a new curriculum coming on board for the elementary and middle schools this year, which includes tools to make sure teachers are meeting state standards while being creative to make lessons more engaging.

Chairman Keaton West congratulated Cooper on his new role, and expressed approval with Cooper’s background in career and technical education, saying he can’t express how important vocational education is to the community.

“We need that … that’s kind of what built a lot of this community. I’m happy to hear that,” West said.

Cooper said there plans for expanding the career and technical education opportunities at Green River High School, as well as the physical structure at the high school, saying more information about those plans will be disclosed in the not too distant future.