Churchill County School District (ChurchillCSD) has officially welcomed Blake Cooper as its new superintendent, bringing a leadership approach that is uniquely personal, deeply rooted, and focused on the future. For Cooper, the role represents both a major professional milestone and the continuation of a century-long family legacy in the Fallon community.
For Superintendent Cooper, leading Churchill County schools is more than a new position. It is a return to a community his family has been tied to for more than a century.
His family's history in Fallon dates back to 1911, when his great-grandfather, Eliodoro Frazzini, moved to the area. He later operated Frazzini Furniture on Maine Street and served on the City Council, becoming part of the town's early civic and business community.
"My family profoundly shaped who I am as a person," Cooper said. "I take immense pride in being able to continue this tradition of serving our community, walking the same streets my great-grandfather did, and giving back to the place that gave us so much."
While attending the University of Nevada, Reno, Cooper met his wife, Corinne, whose parents were both lifelong, dedicated educators in Washoe County School District. That connection led to his first position in education at Veteran Elementary School, where her parents both taught and retired.
"That was the spark," Cooper said. "That was where my educational journey truly began."
What truly sets Cooper apart is his visible, long-standing presence in the lives of local youth outside school hours. Over the last 22 years, he has been a fixture on local sports fields and court sidelines, coaching youth soccer, baseball, basketball, and football across Reno, Yerington, and Fallon. Since returning home to Fallon in 2020, Cooper has been deeply involved in local youth sports, coaching league baseball, Hornets Baseball, and youth football, and serving on the Fallon Youth Basketball Board for the past five years.
"Those 22 years of coaching changed how I see education," Cooper said. "It taught me to look at students as whole individuals. Every child comes to us with different strengths, different needs, and different circumstances. Coaching teaches you how to meet them exactly where they are."
As he steps into his new role, Cooper said student achievement will remain the district's central focus, including efforts to improve test scores, attendance, and graduation rates. At the same time, he said schools cannot be defined by data alone.
"Our students and our district are not just numbers," Cooper said. "What makes our community and our schools truly great cannot always be measured. My perspective is shaped by being a parent, a neighbor, and an educator all at once."
Cooper said his approach is to preserve what makes Fallon unique while ensuring students are prepared for what comes next. That includes maintaining the district's close-knit community values, agricultural heritage, military support, and culture of inclusiveness, while ensuring students are prepared for how learning and technology continue to evolve.
He added that preparation for life after graduation remains a key responsibility of the district, not only in academic performance, but in helping students build skills, confidence, and adaptability that extend beyond the classroom.
In alignment with the district's core mission, Cooper views leadership as an ongoing educational journey. A self-described lifelong learner, he actively consumes current educational research, joins leadership committees, listens to experts, and pursues professional development.
"If we want our staff and students to be lifelong learners, I have to model that behavior every single day," Cooper said. "My early priority is to listen, collaborate, and dig into the data alongside our school board, staff, and community members to ensure we are constantly improving our star ratings and academic outcomes."
"It is an absolute honor to be the next superintendent of ChurchillCSD. I will lead through the multi-layered lens of being a community member, a parent, and an educator, and I take this responsibility incredibly seriously. I want to thank my family, especially my wife, Corinne, for their unwavering support. I also want to extend my deepest gratitude to my professional mentors and colleagues in Washoe and Lyon counties. This is a dream come true, and I wouldn't be here without your guidance. Thank you to Mr. Derild Parsons for his dedicated leadership and the positive foundation he has built here, and thank you to the school board for entrusting me with this opportunity. I look forward to building a highly productive, positive relationship with all of you, and I promise to always lead this district with integrity and ethics."
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