Who is Mrs. Perron? Oyster River High School students’ first thought of the new assistant principal Kristen Perron might be her shoe game, or her dance moves when directing traffic at the end of the day, or the dreaded parking emails. But what else is there?
I first met Perron when she met with students in the library as one of two finalists for the Assistant Principal position, and I knew she would be a great addition to the ORHS community. Noe’s first impression was “energetic, positive, and fun,” and I have to agree.
Perron was the unanimous choice among all the hiring committees. Her major talking points were connecting with students, taking care of students’ mental health, and helping create and maintain a fun environment. I’ve since interacted with her on a handful of occasions and each time she’s been nothing short of positive and welcoming. From the second she opened the door to let me into her office, I could immediately tell what a fun interview this was about to be.
She has a whiteboard outside of her office with markers, as well as post-its, for people to leave notes with questions, comments, or concerns. Her office is full of pictures, plants, her parking vest, and the door is almost always open. She has an infectious smile that makes you want to get to know her and have a meaningful conversation.
Perron has been in the world of education for nearly 15 years, starting as an English teacher at Pinkerton Academy (PA) (alongside another familiar ORHS administrator!) for 12-13 years. Perron then began her administrative journey with a one-year “internship” at PA before spending two years as a dean at Salem High School. Oyster River came with a stellar reputation that Perron has found to be true, noting that the community believes in each student and really lives by that, “not just talking the talk, but walking the walk.”
Perron comes from bigger schools and one of her favorite things so far has been getting to know students, faculty, and even parents on a more personal level. “It’s been very easy to adapt and get into the swing of things from day one. I felt like I could be me and was very comfortable,” Perron reflected.
Administrators have the tough job of both disciplining students but also fostering connections with them, and that’s something that seems to be a priority for Perron She loves her shoes, be it her Nike Dunks or various heels (which I hear she’s quite fast in). She’s a big basketball fan and is always down for a three-point contest. She loves to try different things especially outside, highlighting wake boarding, snowmobiling, and four-wheeling. Not only are these things important to Perron for who she is, but she also feels that they give her a chance to connect with students over things they’re also passionate about.
Perron tries to spend as much time out and about around the school every day as she can in order to connect with students. When she has to meet with a student for any sort of disciplinary (so far that’s often been parking) action she tries to connect with them first over music, sports, or something they seem passionate about. She also tries to connect with students outside of school.
Both Perron and principal Rebecca Noe were quick to bring up Perron’s take on traffic duty. “She’s out there. She’s dancing. Kids are playing music really high and she’s just having a good time with it,” Noe said.
Perron is loving getting to know the community by attending sporting events and as the year goes on she looks forward to attending class fundraisers, concerts, dances, and other school-sanctioned events. She’s loved going to events and encourages students to invite her to things saying, “you tell me the date and time and I’ll be there.”
“So far she seems pretty chill,” shared Mason Kasprzak (‘24). Kasprzak and his friends were discussing Perron during lunch as some of them had never really interacted with her while others had only had brief interactions but overall, they seemed impressed with ORHS’s new admin hire.
It’s still super early in Perron’s time at ORHS but so far students have begun to interact with her and get to know her.
Perron hopes that students will take time to introduce themselves to her saying, “my goal is to by, if not the end of semester one, definitely by the end of the year, be able to look at my students and say their name.” So, to the roughly 425 of you with last names A-K be sure to introduce yourself, even if it’s just a quick hi in the hallways!
– Delaney Nadeau
Mouth of the River 
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