Petal Primary School principal Tessa Trimm received quite the surprise recently, when Petal School District superintendent Matt Dillon paid her a visit to take over one of her morning school announcements.
Unbeknownst to Trimm, Dillon had stopped by to inform her – and the entire school – that she had been named the 2021 National Distinguished Principal of Mississippi by the National Association of Elementary School Principals. With that honor, Trimm will represent the Magnolia State and Petal in Washington, D.C. in the fall of this year.
“They did a great job of surprising me; I had no idea what was going on,” Trimm said. “I didn’t even know what (Dillon) had said – my assistant principals had just heard about it right before.
“So it’s really an honor. The National Association of Elementary School Principals is a program that I’ve been a part of since I’ve been a principal, and so it’s definitely an honor to be able to represent Mississippi for the nation. I can’t think of a better honor.”
The National Distinguished Principal program honors outstanding elementary and middle-level principals who ensure that America’s children acquire a sound foundation for lifelong learning and achievement. It was established in 1984 to recognize principals who set high standard for instruction, student achievement, character and climate for the students, families and staffs in their learning communities.
“I don’t know who nominated me for it, but I do have a nice packet that I’m going to be filling out over spring break, so I’ve got a lot of homework to fill out,” Trimm said. “But it talks about your commitment to young children, it talks about your involvement in the community, it talks about being an instructional leader.
“While I don’t like being in the spotlight, those are things that I think – on our whole campus, all the teachers that I’m privileged to work with – that we do every day. We’re very invested in this community, and obviously early childhood is critical to our success, and we want to help kids from the time they’re born.”
Each year, National Distinguished Principals represent Pre-K through grade 8 public schools from all across the country, as well as principals in U.S. private schools and those from the United States Departments of Defense Office of Educational Activity and the United States Department of State Office of Overseas Schools. Public school elementary and middle-level principals are nominated by peers in their state, and final selections are made by committees appointed by each of NAESP’s state affiliate offices.
Honorees from private schools and overseas schools are selected by special committees.
“It’s a great organization; I get lots of information from them, and lots of literature that I share with our teacher-leaders,” Trimm said. “They’re always putting things out there that are new information and research, and we’re constantly reading that.
“So it’s kind of neat that the place you get these emails from all the time, all of a sudden they say they’re going to recognize you. It makes you feel good about yourself, for sure.”
Trimm earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, a master’s degree from William Carey University and an education specialist degree from the University of Mississippi. She has her National Board Certification as an early childhood generalist.
Trimm served as a first-grade teacher at Petal Elementary School from 2001-2006 before moving to Martin Elementary School in Tennessee. From 2008-2010, she served as a kindergarten teacher at Northside Elementary School in Denham Springs, Louisiana.
In 2010, Trimm moved back to the Petal School District as a second-grade teacher at Petal Primary School, and in 2011 moved to kindergarten/first-grade looping teacher at the school. She then became an assistant principal intern at the primary school before taking over as assistant principal in 2014.
She has been principal at the primary school since 2016.
“I think (my passion for early childhood education) is one of those things that’s just God-birthed,” Trimm said. “You just know what your spiritual gifts are, and I know my spiritual gift is to serve, and I’ve been blessed to have a knack with young kids. Even from the time I was a little girl, just even coming through school and growing up, I’ve always worked with kids.
“You know that old cliché that ‘if you love your job, it’s never a day of work,’ and that’s exactly what it is. But it’s not just a cliché – it is absolutely one of the most rewarding things to come to work every day. You just can’t have a bad day with little kids.”
Trimm said she is excited about her trip to the nation’s capital, where she will meet the other 49 other National Distinguished Principals from around the country.
“They’re all elementary or middle school principals who have recognized as being distinguished,” she said. “We always talk about how we want to be ‘Mississippi good,’ but we want to be more than that – we want to be nationally recognized.
“So I’m excited to go share what we’re doing in Petal, but more than that I’m excited to learn what’s happening in other states.”
Dillon said the district’s leaders work very hard, and to have one of its own building-level leaders recognized on a national level is especially rewarding.
“I know Mrs. Trimm works very closely with her students, her family, her staff,” he said. “She’s an important part of our Petal School District and the Petal community as a whole.
“I think having to lead in the midst of a pandemic has been tough for all of our leaders, and they’ve just gone above and beyond. So to have this recognition during the pandemic and all we’ve gone through is special, and I know she’ll represent our state very well with this national recognition.”
