Lisa Perrin, principal of Allemands Elementary School, was named the 2025 Principal of the Year for St. Charles Parish Public Schools.
Perrin was recognized at the annual Principal of the Year Spotlight Soirée Oct. 16, at The Old Church in Luling. The award honors leaders who demonstrate excellence in collaborative leadership, instructional leadership and personalization.
In a press release, Superintendent Dr. Ken Oertling noted that strong relationships define Perrin’s leadership.
“Lisa leads with gratitude, relationships and a steadfast belief in her students,” Oertling said. “At Allemands Elementary, she ensures every child, and every teacher knows: ‘you belong here.’”
Perrin began teaching in 1993 in Lafourche Parish. She joined St. Charles Parish Public Schools in 1997 as a social studies teacher at Eual J. Landry Middle School. At Landry, she was recognized as the SCPPS Middle School Teacher of the Year and she went on to serve as a teacher facilitator of technology for the district, administrative assistant at St. Rose Elementary, assistant principal at J.B. Martin Middle School, and as principal at St. Rose Elementary. She has served as the principal of Allemands Elementary School since 2017.
Perrin said she was surprised when she heard she was selected as Principal of the Year.
“But I was very proud to celebrate my school and our hard work,” Perrin said. “My mind immediately went to being excited to share this recognition with my assistant principal, faculty and staff. I thought about how to share it with them.”
Perrin contributes her success as principal to being faithful, believing in education, sharing a collective vision with her staff and having a growth mindset.
“I am fortunate to have a group of dedicated and hard-working faculty and staff at my school,” she said. “We collaborate and put our students first in the decisions that we make.”
She said the biggest lesson she has learned is that educators must be lifelong learners, while also being humble enough to embrace feedback and improvement.
“If we place emphasis on building positive relationships and working hard, we can provide every child the skills and knowledge to have the opportunities needed to be a wonderful person and successful adult,” she said.
One of the biggest misconceptions people have about principals is that their main job is to focus on discipline and management of the school, Perrin said.
“Our most important work is to ensure that every student in our school is safe and is able to learn and grow every day,” she said.
Perrin said she has been surprised by how willingly teachers at Allemands Elementary embrace change.
“Many people resist change,” she said. “But when our instructional coach joined our school, she shared some effective practices from her previous experiences. Even though it took a lot of effort and energy to adjust our processes, the teachers were willing to commit to the plan to make our school a better place without resistance. This has made the difference in our students’ growth.”
