Alanson school district names Cook new superintendent

ALANSON — Last week, members of the Alanson Public Schools board of education approved Rachelle Cook to serve as the district’s new superintendent and K-12 principal.

“The board unanimously feels we have the right person to lead our district,” said board president Karen McFarland in a press release. “Rachelle is a great fit with our talented staff and is focused on serving students, families and the community.”

Cook has worked for the district for 11 years in both teaching and administrative roles. Her most recent position was as director of student achievement.

“I started in Alanson as a second-grade teacher and was asked to be an interim elementary principal,” Cook said. “It just seemed like the next best step. I have been working side by side with Mr. (Dean) Paul for the last three years doing administrative duties with him.”

Dean Paul, who had served as superintendent and K-12 principal since 2015, announced his decision to retire in April.

“I’ve been in education now 31 years and my son just graduated from high school,” Paul said. “He received a scholarship to play basketball at Grand Valley State University. He had numerous offers, both in state and out of state, to go play ball and I needed to figure out where he’d be going first and what the financial situation was.”

Paul, who is a pilot, said he has accepted a corporate flying job.

“That schedule will allow flexibility to be able to see my son’s basketball games when that season starts,” Paul said. “It just was good timing. Now is the time to make a move and have some change and have fun.”

Paul said he was proud to see improvements in enrollment and program offerings during his time with the district.

“We had some student growth,” Paul said. “Our numbers started going up after a number of years of declining enrollment. We started to create some new programs. We started the aviation program. We started to implement some PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) programs and got more staff involved in the whole school improvement project, which was not the case prior.”

Cook’s contract is scheduled to begin July 1, although she will work on a per diem basis following Paul’s last day, which was Tuesday. McFarland said Cook’s salary will be $93,000 for her first year.

Alanson Public Schools was assisted by the Charlevoix-Emmet Intermediate School District in its search for a new superintendent. The search was internal, with Cook the only applicant, McFarland said. The search took place in early May.

Cook said that even before the job was posted, “I knew I wanted to apply for it.”

“I am excited to continue working with the staff and the parents and the families administratively and continue the work Alanson Public Schools has worked so hard on the last few years with new curriculum and new initiatives and becoming a PBIS school,” Cook said.

Cook received her master’s degree in education from Grand Valley State University. She received her bachelor of science degree in education from Western Michigan University. She also holds both Michigan Professional Education and Administration certificates.

Prior to joining Alanson Public Schools, Cook worked as a Title One reading and math teacher in Harbor Springs.

Cook is married to her husband, Corey. They have two children, Carter, 11, and Bailey, 5.