Terran Perry framed the move to Woodlawn Middle as a return to the part of education work he finds most compelling: school turnaround.

"I feel very blessed to have experienced a very colorful and fulfilling career in education," Perry said in a written response to EdTribune. He described a path that includes teaching middle school students and serving as the Louisiana Department of Education's leader in school discipline and alternative education. "However, the role that I have found most fulfilling has been my work in school turnaround and school transformation."

That is why Woodlawn appealed to him, Perry said. He described the charge as re-establishing the school as a high-performing campus in the community within a short period of time.

"He understood this to be a much-welcomed challenge," Perry said of the superintendent's request.

A Large School in a Shrinking District

Woodlawn Middle enrolled 754 students in 2026, making it one of the larger schools in East Baton Rouge Parish's current enrollment file.

The district around it is under enrollment pressure. East Baton Rouge Parish^↗ET enrolled 38,008 students in 2026, down 3,629 students from 2019, an 8.7% decline. The latest year-over-year move was a loss of 1,703 students, or 4.3%.

That makes Perry's focus on culture more than a soft opening statement. In a district where 78.0% of students were economically disadvantaged and 9.6% were English learners in 2026, the learning environment he describes is part of the academic strategy.

"An immediate focus will be to enhance the learning environment," Perry said. "A vibrant, positive school culture is the heartbeat of a successful community."

He pushed back against a narrow view of academic success as only a testing question.

"Too often it is believed that academic success is just about test scores," Perry said. "This is simply not the case. It is more about building an environment where children feel confident enough to take risks, grow from mistakes, and discover their true potential."

The Community Advantage

Perry's answer about families was unusually explicit: he believes Woodlawn already has assets that can support a fast climb.

"I am fully convinced that Woodlawn Middle has the potential to quickly become one of EBR's highest-performing schools, as there are factors already working in the school's favor," he said.

He named community support and parent involvement as the foundation.

"Excellence cannot be achieved in isolation, and the unwavering commitment of the community to the school's success is our greatest strategic advantage," Perry said.

The leadership transition, then, is not being framed as a rescue carried by a single principal. Perry is describing a school where the raw ingredients are already present: talent, drive, family support, and a community that wants the school to succeed.

"I believe that we have the talent, we have the drive, and we have the community," he said. "And I look forward to witnessing Woodlawn Middle become a premier model of educational excellence."

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