Beginning her third year as principal of Pelahatchie Elementary, Lisa Attkisson, better known as Mrs. A, will be shepherding around 470 students and 36 teachers for the new year beginning with a Sneak Peak on August 7. Fifteen of those teachers are new. Seven left or transferred after last year.
“I loved school from day one, and always played school and received a chalk board every Christmas,” said Attkisson. “I love working in Pelahatchie with these great kids. I pray to be a light for others.”
She said it all started in 1988, when she stopped student teaching on December 14, graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi on December 15, and got a job offer from Northwest Rankin to teach sixth grade on December 21.
A graduate of Northwest Rankin and Southern Miss with an elementary education degree, Attkisson taught school for 23 years in the Northwest Rankin zone before studying educational leadership through Principal Corps at the University of Mississippi. She interned at Pisgah and Brandon Middle School before becoming assistant principal at Brandon Middle for two years.
Attkisson wants school to be known as a welcoming place. Parents can come to the school to read to the class or eat lunch with their child. She said they always welcome parents to share with a class if they have a hobby or career of interest.
She has plans for an exciting 2017-2018 school year.
She is the mother of two, Anna Grace, 17, a Pelahatchie High student; and Nick, 21, a Hinds Rankin student. Her mother, Shirley Crenshaw Thrasher, lives with them at the Reservior. Her three brothers and a sister also live in Rankin County.
Asked where the term “Pelahappy” came from, Attkisson said that it started as a slip of the tongue, but is actually true for her, so it caught on. “I love it so much, it is truly my happy place.”