Twin brothers-turned-teachers prove power of Long Beach College Promise
Twin brothers Markel and Martel Cooper ’19 have spent their lives moving in sync — same schools, same classes, same ambitions. But in their North Long Beach neighborhood, ambition wasn’t always enough. College felt more like a distant idea than a real destination.
“Where we grew up,” Martel said, “most male figures were unsuccessful, to say the least. We didn’t have much to look up to.”
What they did have were parents who, despite their own difficult upbringings, kept their sons tethered to discipline and hope; the boys were placed in sports early — first to keep them occupied, then to keep them safe. Later on, initiatives like the Long Beach College Promise, built to remove financial and logistical roadblocks to higher education, provided another crucial stepping stone.
From there, they were unstoppable.
“We put our heads together,” Markel said. “We built bridges as we walked.”
Today, the Cooper twins are both physical education teachers in the Long Beach Unified School District, founders of a sports program for disadvantaged youth, and coordinators for the district’s Male Leadership Academy — where they routinely lead field trips to CSULB, hoping to plant the seeds of ambition in their own students.
“Just getting kids to step foot on a college campus can be huge,” Markel said. “They start to see themselves there.”
They speak from experience. Six years after graduating with honors in kinesiology, the brothers are back at The Beach, this time pursuing master’s degrees in curriculum and instruction in the College of Education.
“We just want to be the best versions of ourselves,” Markel said, “and show our students they can do the same.”
Investing in local talent
The Coopers’ story is the kind of outcome the Long Beach College Promise was designed to foster.
Founded in 2008, the Promise guarantees LBUSD students two years of free tuition at Long Beach City College, provides local preference in the admissions process at Cal State Long Beach, and eases the transition between the two.
Long Beach College Promise Director Elijah Sims said "local preference” means Long Beach students who meet CSU's minimum requirements are guaranteed a spot at CSULB.
“If they apply,” Sims said of LBSUD students who meet the criteria, “then they're coming to The Beach.”
The ultimate goal, he said, is not only to get more local students to college, but to get them through it. That's why the program offers all Promise students access to academic support, counseling services, networking events, scholarships and internship opportunities.
Did you know?
The Long Beach College Promise
- All CSULB and LBCC students who graduated from the Long Beach Unified School District are part of the Promise.
- The Promise qualifies students for two free years at LBCC.
- The Promise offers guaranteed admittance to CSULB — both for first-time and transfer students — as long as they meet the minimum requirements.
The challenge, Sims said, is that the Promise’s reach often goes unseen, even to those who benefit from it. That’s why he and his campus partners are looking to expand awareness — ensuring that every eligible student understands what the Promise offers, how it can help them and why it matters.
"The College Promise is a program that’s invested in making sure Long Beach can retain its talent,” Sims said. “Ultimately, the goal is for us to get Long Beach residents to go to school in Long Beach and earn living-wage and high-wage jobs here.”
To track success, he said, CSULB, LBCC and LBUSD recently developed a data-sharing agreement to create a scorecard that will analyze persistence rates, graduation rates and workforce outcomes. The goal is to pinpoint where support is needed, particularly for underrepresented students.
“We want to make sure we’re making a real impact,” Sims said.
'Competition pushed us'
In the meantime, the Cooper twins are proof that investing in local talent pays off.
Like many Promise students, the brothers attended Long Beach City College for two years before transferring to The Beach, where they enrolled in all the same classes, applied for the same part-time jobs and split the cost of books and parking permits. The cost-savings and camaraderie were obvious benefits of the arrangement. But, as sports fans, they enjoyed the competitive aspect just as much.
“If I got a 93 on an exam and my brother got a 94, I wasn’t happy,” Markel said. “That competition pushed us.”
It keeps pushing them.
Markel teaches PE at Hoover Middle School, Martel at Stephens Middle School, and both run a fitness program cleverly titled Double Impakt. They are passionate about mentoring and committed to getting as many of their students on the college path as possible.
Touring CSULB’s campus is the most effective route they’ve found to do that.
"I tell my students, ‘I went to Long Beach State. This is where I sat. This is where I learned,’” Markel said. “And suddenly, they’re all ears."
The twins have lives independent of each other, of course. Markel is engaged to be married, and Martel is raising a daughter. But they have apartments only minutes from each other and are saving up to buy homes of their own.
“We never imagined we’d be in this position,” Markel said. “But here we are.”
And that’s the real promise — not just a program, not just a degree, but living proof that the path exists.
