Catholic high school gets new president from Drexel

John Cooke, a former administrator at Drexel University, has been named the next president of Monsignor Bonner & Archbishop Prendergast High School in Drexel Hill.

Cooke, 41, who was most recently Drexel's associate dean of students for campus engagement, will assume the post Aug. 10.

His appointment was announced in a joint statement Monday by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's Office of Catholic Education and the Faith in the Future Foundation, the nonprofit that manages 17 Catholic high schools for the archdiocese.

Cooke replaces the Rev. James P. Olson. In May, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput appointed Olson school minister of Saints John Neumann-Maria Goretti High School in South Philadelphia.

Cooke, who held a variety of positions at Drexel, graduated from Archbishop Ryan High School in the Northeast in 1991.

He has an undergraduate degree in elementary education from Millersville University, a master's from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and is pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership and management from Drexel.

Between 1997 and 2001, Cooke taught math, science, and social studies at Christ the King Elementary School in the Northeast and served as the athletic director.