DeSoto Parish Schools is pleased to announce that Mansfield Elementary School Principal Mrs. Amanda LaFollette has been named the 2023-2024 DeSoto Parish Principal of the Year.
Student outcomes at Mansfield Elementary School have improved significantly this past school year. Mansfield Elementary serves as DeSoto Parish Schools' Student Wellness program pilot and is named a model of excellence for literacy by the Louisiana Department of Education.
Superintendent Clay Corley recognizes this great work at Mansfield Elementary: "In our quest for high performance, leaders like Amanda LaFollette truly help set the standard. This accolade is a testament to her unwavering commitment, innovative leadership, and the transformative impact she continues to make at Mansfield Elementary. Our school system is fortunate to have such a dedicated educator who projects our core values to serve our students."
Director of Administration, Ms. Lillie Giles, works closely with Principal LaFollette and has witnessed how, under LaFollette's leadership, Mansfield Elementary has flourished in terms of school culture:
"With boldness and a commitment to improve student performance, Principal LaFollette has woven social-emotional learning needs into the fabric of the school's cultures. Her visionary leadership style has fostered a sense of self-awareness, safety, and inclusiveness in the classroom among students and adults. This cultural change has inspired the school's diverse team of educators to share in her vision of improved academic performance by focusing on the most powerful levers for change—teacher effectiveness and high-quality leadership to support them. Principal LaFollette richly deserves recognition and accolades for her enthusiastic pursuit of excellence and effective leadership in creating a positive school culture fostering high student performance, collaboration, and innovation."
As a native of the DeSoto Parish, Mrs. LaFollette began her education career in the school system as a math teacher at Mansfield High School in 2002. She taught math for fourteen years at Mansfield High School, where she served as the cheerleader and the initial sponsor of the National Beta Club. After she served as a career teacher, Mrs. LaFollette became a Master Teacher in 2016, supporting math teachers both at Mansfield High School and Mansfield Middle School. LaFollette's stint as Mansfield Elementary School's Principal began in the 2020-2021 school year.
LaFollette's commitment to DeSoto Parish's core values and mission starts with creating a positive and caring culture for students:
"I am so proud of our work at Mansfield Elementary School. We intentionally create a caring culture where our students feel safe and loved, enabling them to reach their goals. Our test scores show we are growing and continuing to aim our goals high!"
As a result of Mrs. LaFollette's selection, she will represent DeSoto Parish Schools at the state-level Principal of the Year Competition through the Louisiana Department of Education.
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