How We Operate - Tucson Country Day School

Governing Board Members

Mr. Richard Cooper

Mr. Richard Cooper is the President/CEO/Founder of Tucson Country Day School. He has a Bachelors Degree in K-12 Education and a Masters Degree in Education Administration. He is a former teacher and has more than 59 years of educational experience. For 10 years, he worked under Dr. Charles Grubbs, the Assistant Superintendent of public instruction for district number one where he helped to develop the Pima County Career Guidance Program.

In 2009, Richard was awarded the “Arizona Entrepreneur of the Year Award,” representing the state of Arizona as an outstanding business leader by Newt Gingrich, of American Solutions. Newt visited TCDS and remarked that this type of program is the way education should be going in our country.

In 2011 , Richard was awarded the Arizona Charter Association’s coveted Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Education, which is given to honor a person who has dedicated their life and passion to the advancement of education. Mr. Cooper is only the second person to receive the award since the charter school movement started in Arizona in 1996. His educational career has been guided by a quote from Horace Mann, the Father of the American public education system: “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.” He has high expectations for both academic and social excellence, and believes every child should work to reach their highest potential. Students are expected to show a high level of manners, respect, etiquette, and responsibility.

In 2012, Richard was awarded the Sahuaro High School Cougar Foundation Hall of Fame Award. This award was given for the many additional educational programs that he started for the district. Some of the programs include the Selective Enrichment program as well as a very popular Senior Electives class.

Some of the community organizations that Richard has been involved with are: Tucson Chamber of Commerce, VIP Breakfast Club, Sunrise Chapel Church board, as well as the Kiwanis, Moose, and Elks clubs. Richard is a sailing enthusiast. For many years, he served as the Commodore of the Tucson Sailing Club.

Mr. Cooper has two children- Nadine and Chris Cooper. They both live in the Phoenix area. He is married to Susan Scott-Cooper, a retired elementary school teacher and guidance counselor. She is a native of Louisiana. Susan is very involved with the homeless population in Tucson.

You can read more about how Mr. Cooper’s vision began, here.

Mr. Allan Stockellburg

Allan Stockellburg is a father of two beautiful children and husband to an even more beautiful wife. He is a Tucson-native with an educational background in Computer Science and Business Management. Allan currently serves as the Executive Director at Parent Aid Child Abuse Prevention Center, and chairs the Southern Arizona Fatherhood Collaborative and the Pima County Parenting Coalition. Allan is passionate about supporting families, because he truly believes that all children deserve a bright future.

Mr. Bruce Forche

Bruce is happily married to his wife of forty years, Christine. He has two sons and two grandchildren. His children and grandchildren have been a part of the TCDS family since 1988.

He has a Masters Degree as a Reading Specialist from the University of Massachusetts. Bruce has a passion for teaching children how to read. He has done this as a first and second grade teacher, teaching in his children’s classrooms, and most recently began the mentorship program for reading at Tucson Country Day School.

Bruce also worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 25 years before retiring in 2005. In his spare time, Bruce has dedicated himself to teaching reading. One of his most gratifying experiences was when he taught an illiterate person to read so that he could join the work force! He is most excited to be on the TCDS board because he has always believed in alternative ways to teach children and sees a bright future for the school. Bruce has been on the TCDS Governing Board since 2020.

Mrs. Renee Danielson

Renee Danielson is a Los Angeles native but has called Tucson home since 2006. After receiving her BA in Psychology from UCLA, she did part-time work with children on the Autism spectrum, while working full-time at UCLA in the Housing and Hospitality Services department. Eventually, her full-time job provided more opportunities so her Psychology work was put aside to focus on her professional growth in the Hospitality Industry.

After working in a hotel in Phoenix for a year, Renee moved to Tucson where she obtained a job at Raytheon in the Finance department. Now working in the Contracts department, Renee has been with Raytheon since 2007. Renee and her husband Clay have two children at TCDS and have been part of the TCDS community since 2014. Renee has been a Board Member since 2018 and has enjoyed being witness to the progressive growth and focus on excellence the school has shown over the years.

Mr. Joshua Ruddick

Mr. Josh Ruddick is a science educator at a local public charter school where his course focuses on sustainability and environmental and social justice issues. Teaching is his second career and he has been honored twice by the Tucson Unified School District as Teacher of the Year at Santa Rita High School and once as a finalist for District High School Teacher of the Year. Mr. Ruddick is also an alumni of the Fulbright-Japan Teacher Exchange Program for the Education of Sustainable Development. As an educator, Mr. Ruddick is known for forming meaningful community relationships that bring unique, real-world learning experiences to his students.

In addition to service on the TCDS Board, Mr. Ruddick is a co-founder, instructor and current acting President of the Pima County Chapter of the Arizona Master Naturalist Association. He is also a former Board member of the Arizona Association for Environmental Educators and he serves as an Executive Committee Member of the Rincon Group of the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter. Mr. Ruddick has two children that attend TCDS. Isadora is in 7th grade and Cassius is entering the 3rd grade. He and his family live on the east side of Tucson with their dog, Rocco.

Meeting Agendas

Date:	Location:	Agenda:	Minutes:
7/2/2019 10:00 a.m.	TCDS	Agenda	Minutes
7/12/2019 10:00 a.m.	TCDS	Agenda	Minutes
8/22/2019 5:00 p.m.	TCDS	Agenda	Minutes
9/5/2019 5:00 p.m.	TCDS	Agenda	Minutes
10/14/2019 5:00 p.m.	TCDS	Agenda	Minutes
12/3/2019 5:00 p.m.	TCDS	Agenda	Minutes
12/13/2019 9:00 a.m.	TCDS	Agenda	Minutes
1/21/2020 5:00 p.m.	TCDS	Agenda	Minutes
4/21/2020 4:00 p.m.	Zoom Click here	Agenda	Minutes
6/16/2020 4:00 p.m.	Zoom Click here	Agenda	Minutes
6/30/2020 4:00 p.m.	Zoom Click here	Agenda	Minutes
8/10/2020 4:00 p.m.	Zoom Click here	Agenda	Minutes
9/9/2020 5:00 p.m.	Google Meet Click here	Agenda	Minutes
10/7/2020 3:30 p.m.	Google Meet Click here	Agenda	Minutes
10/9/2020 10:00 a.m.	Zoom Click here	Agenda	Minutes
11/10/2020 5:00 p.m.	TCDS	Agenda	Minutes
11/16/2020 4:00 p.m.	Zoom Click here	Agenda	Minutes
12/15/2020 5:00 p.m.	Zoom Click here	Agenda	Minutes
12/29/2020 5:00 p.m.	Zoom Click here	Agenda	Minutes
1/12/2021 5:00 p.m.	Zoom Click here	Agenda	Minutes
2/9/2021 5:00 p.m.	Zoom Click here	Agenda	Minutes
3/9/2021 5:00 p.m.	Zoom Click here	Agenda	Minutes
4/6/2021 5:00 p.m.	Zoom Click here	Agenda	Minutes
5/11/2021 5:00 p.m.	Zoom Click here	Agenda	Minutes
5/29/2021 10:00 a.m.	TVGR	Agenda	Minutes
6/8/2021 5:00 p.m.	Zoom Click here	Agenda	Minutes
6/15/2021 5:00 p.m.	Zoom Click here	Agenda	Minutes
6/30/2021 5:00 p.m.	TCDS & Zoom Click here	Agenda	Minutes
7/20/2021 5:00 p.m.	TCDS & Zoom Click here	Agenda
7/29/2021 5:00 p.m.	TCDS & Zoom Click here	Agenda

Budget Information

The TCDS campus includes our private preschool and prekindergarten program, our public charter school K-8 program, and a number of additional programs including Camp Adventure, Summer Academies, Before and After Care, and our lunch program. While we are all one campus and function as one school entity, only the public charter school and lunch program receive state and/or federal funding. All other programs are fee-based and are private programs. Our entire entity- charter school and private programs- operates as a non-profit company.

Below is our budget information: