ALA National President,
Dr. Coral May Grout

Department of Massachusetts: Eugene M. Connor Unit 193

Eligibility: Through father, Charles E. Grout, who served in the U.S. Air Force in the Philippines and Australia during World War II. Also adds military service of her grandfather, Stanislas Laplante, who served in the U.S. Army during WWI.

Offices Held: Served several unit-, district-, and department-level chairs and offices, including the district Education chair for 25 years and department president three times. National: chair of Children & Youth, Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation, Education (twice), Americanism, Constitution & Bylaws, Public Relations, Legislative, Leadership, Community Service, and Junior Activities committees. Also served on the National Executive Committee, and as national secretary, national historian, and national vice president.

Professional/personal background:Coral retired from her position as Superintendent of Schools in Acushnet, Mass., in 2006. To keep busy, she accepted an offer to work for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) as an evaluator of underperforming school districts and an evaluator for RETELL — a required program to ensure that students who do not speak English receive proper instruction and assistance. Coral left DESE at the end of the 2025 school year. Her education includes an A.B. in Psychology & Education from Mount Holyoke College; M.Ed. in Secondary Administration from Boston College; and Ed.D. in Educational Planning, Research, and Administration from the University of Massachusetts. Coral’s religious involvement is with St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church in Baldwinville, Mass., where she is a leader, Eucharistic minister, and assists with fundraising.

Within her community, Coral has served on multiple town committees and recently retired after nine years as town moderator. She is involved with the Massachusetts Veterans Cemetery as a volunteer, the Winchendon Historical Society where she formerly served as secretary of the board, financial supporter of the Clark Memorial YMCA and the Charles E. Grout Memorial Golf Tournament, Catholic Financial Life Insurance Corporation Board Member for eight years, USJB Education Foundation Board Member, and has held positions with the Mount Holyoke College Class of 1975 for the past 50 years. For the past 30 years, she’s been a national presenter on the topics of educational leadership and grant writing to audiences of 10 to 1000.

Coral enjoys traveling and has visited more than 50 countries. In addition, she tries walking four to five miles per day and has completed The American Legion Family’s USA 250 Challenge by walking 250 miles. She enjoys gardening, as well as golfing. She’s the only living member of her family and lives in their 100-year-old home in Massachusetts and spends winters in Florida. Chloe, her 8-year-old tiger cat, lives and travels with her.