Marilyn Cook has been principal or assistant principal in five different secondary schools--two in Canada, two in southern California, and one in the Bay Area of California. She has learned the lesson well that every school has its own personality, its own foundation (culture and history), and its own capacity for greatness. It is the job of the principal to learn that personality, foundation, and capacity and to energize the school to go beyond what its people ever thought they could do.
Marilyn's most recent work has been in Palo Alto, California where she was principal of Palo Alto High School, then Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, and finally Associate Superintendent for Educational Services, in the Palo Alto Unified School District.
Marilyn has a Bachelor of Science degree from Eastern Illinois University with majors in English and French. She has a Master of Arts degree in Romance Languages from the University of Oregon. She completed all coursework and exams for a doctoral degree in French Literature at the University of British Columbia where she is a.b.d.(all but dissertation)for a Ph.D., and she completed a doctorate (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership at the University of La Verne in southern California.
Marilyn holds teaching licenses or credentials from Illinois, British Columbia Canada, and California, and holds an Administrative Services Credential in California.
Marilyn is retired from Palo Alto and works as a consultant.
