John A. Kooken was a principal and eventually superintendent of the Arlington ISD. He moved to Arlington in 1908 when the Arlington public school system consisted of three small buildings, a superintendent and principal and 10 teachers. Kooken was the first Arlington educator to have a school named after him.
Kooken Elementary, located on the original site of North Side School, was built in 1938. In 1988, Kooken Educational Center re-opened as the only preschool campus in the district.
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