Kaplan High's Guerrini on list for state’s top principal

KAPLAN — Hard work yields positive results.
Look no further than Kaplan High School for evidence of that.
The Lady Pirates softball team will be playing in the state tournament later this week. The baseball team reached the postseason. The school’s musical department is thriving.
And the person leading it all at the top recently received some recognition, too.
Kaplan Principal Dr. Janet Guerrini has been named as a semifinalist for the State Principal of the Year honor.
“I am happy because it’s for my school,” Guerrini said. “We have good kids and quality educators working hard in this building every day.”
Vermilion Parish already honored Guerrini as the Parish High School Principal of the Year. Again, she said it is all a credit to those around her.
“When you have quality people in your building,” Guerrini said, “doing their jobs, day in and day out, then good things happen.”
Now, Guerrini does have certain expectations, for both students and teachers.
“Kids will rise to the expectations that you put on them,” Guerrini said. “That is the most important thing that I talk about. What are the expectations? We are going to have the expectation that we are going to rise through hard work. We are going to teach the curriculum and we expect the students to learn it. The kids can. They may learn in different method, but kids are capable of learning.”
That’s not to say the methods of reaching the kids has to be boring.
“We are going to do whatever it takes to make the child as successful as possible,” Guerrini said. “It’s setting the expectation you can learn regardless of who you are. It can be fun.
“If I am a math teacher, I am going to do whatever I can to make math fun.”
The ability to make it fun can only come with passion.
“You have to be passionate about what you are doing,” Guerrini said. “You can make the kids learn because you are so passionate about teaching them.”
That passion grows when the school bell begins a new day.
“We are growing every day,” Guerrini said. “We are learning every day. That’s not going to stop. We are going to keep moving forward.”
Guerrini is looking forward to the this summer, when she will learn if she will be named Louisiana’s top principal. Win or not, she is happy.
“I am proud to be at Kaplan,” Guerrini said.
Vermilion Parish Superintendent Jerome Puyau said the school system is proud to have Guerrini.
“Dr. Guerrini is an inspirational leader who is committed, dependable and determined to make Kaplan High one of the best schools in Vermilion Parish and the state,” Puyau said. “She is without doubt a very competent leader and is particularly talented at motivating and inspiring the teachers, students and the community. She is enthusiastic and is always willing to go the extra mile which is demonstrated in her recognition as a semi-finalist in the principal of the year award.
“Congratulations and good luck! We are all cheering for you.”
In the meantime, Guerrini will remain focused on the task at hand.
“Keep focused and do your job consistently,” Guerrini said of that task. “Good things happen when you work hard. I have always believed in that.”