Alicia Mitchell, PhD, was announced as Glacier Peak’s newest principal by the Snohomish School District superintendent on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. Mitchell will start her position on July 1. Mitchell is coming from Archbishop Murphy High School, a private, Catholic school just three miles away, where she served as principal for six years. Dr. Mitchell has been working in schools, both private and public, as a teacher and administration, for 23 years, with 2025-2026 being 24.
One thing that immediately sets Dr. Mitchell apart from the other principals who have served Glacier Peak is her Doctorate, which she completed from George Fox University. She spoke regarding her research study, which mostly looked into teacher leadership development. “It was really looking at the ways that you develop leadership capacity throughout a schoolhouse, through all the staff in a schoolhouse, and really thinking about the ways to really have shared and collective leadership of a school,” Mitchell said.
Other than serving on the school’s administrative teams, Mitchell has taught English. “I have taught every grade from seven through 12 […] I taught AP Lang for many years […] I usually would teach one ninth-grade class because I thought it was fun. I liked working with the ninth graders when they’d first start high school, so that was really fun. So whenever possible, I would always request at least one ninth-grade class in the mix,” Mitchell said.
Looking into her future position, her goals, and priorities are well outlined. “The most important thing for me as a leader who’s new to the school is getting to learn the community. I think that comes from just being present and spending time in classrooms. I love visiting classrooms, that’s one of the favorite parts of my job,” Mitchell said. “And then getting to be at events, whether it’s sporting events or whether it’s going to the musical or seeing what a club is doing, and just seeing that life of the school.”
Outside of school Dr. Mitchell spends time with her two Labrador Retrievers, Julio, and Phoebe, and her husband Steve, “My husband and I, we love hanging out with each other, we love cooking dinner together and taking our Labs for a walk and they’re just ridiculous dogs and we just love making and exploring new recipes and making good dinners and just hanging out together. And so that’s the most fun,” Mitchell said.
As this school year comes to a close, keep your eyes out for the new principal, Dr. Alicia Mitchell, and don’t be afraid to say hi, “I’m just really grateful for the opportunity, and I feel really honored that I was selected to be the principal. So I feel a lot of gratitude that I get this opportunity to be in this role,” Mitchell said.