From day one, Katrise impressed me with her ability to communicate effectively and her understanding of the school improvement process. She understands the importance of involving others to be co-architects of the work necessary to provide all students with access to academic rigor and meaningful instruction. Her efforts contributed to improving and stabilizing Houston ISD's middle school enrollment, increasing the at or above grade level reading and math scores of middle school students."

She is a visionary leader that truly believes in achieving academic excellence for ALL students. Her approach to instructional leadership is centered on relationship building and transformative instruction, which has allowed our schools to maintain a continuous momentum of progression.

Being new to the 7th largest urban district, Dr. Perera had to work quickly to understand the needs of her principals, their schools, and the district alike. She drew from both personal and professional experiences to create an environment wherein principals and their schools experienced success.