Former assistant principal steps into new position

Hutchinson High School’s former assistant principal is now serving as the school district’s director of teaching and learning.

Deb Marcotte is fulfilling a role similar but not identical to that of former assistant superintendent Allen Stoeckman. Marcotte, who’s worked with the district for five years, said her new role focuses primarily on curriculum and instruction.

Superintendent Daron VanderHeiden said the assistant principal position used to include more responsibility for human resources functions. “What we found was we were spending too much time in human resources and not enough on education programs and curriculum,” he said.

Marcotte is still ultimately in charge of human resources, but much of that aspect of the job has been delegated to other departments and streamlined through technology. Marcotte is working part-time as director of teaching and learning and also directing the district’s Crow River Area Learning Center until another director is found.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)