DENHAM SPRINGS — If you’re looking for one of the best principals around, look no further than Denham Springs Junior High School. Principal Justin Wax was just named Principal of the Year by the Louisiana Department of Education, in partnership with Dream Teachers.
Wax was nominated for the award by his colleagues.
“I was very honored to be selected from my peers here in Livingston Parish,” Wax said. “They selected me, probably not because I am the best at everything, but truly because I think there’s an opportunity to represent the collective of what great things are happening here in Livingston Parish.”
Wax has been at the Livingston Parish school for four years. Under his leadership, DSJH has earned state and national recognition, including designation as a 2024 Top Gains Honoree and inclusion in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Middle Schools lists for both 2024 and 2025.
Additionally, Wax helped DSJH expand its high-school level STEM classes, and created an Aquaponics Lab. The lab gives students hands-on opportunities to conserve endangered Louisiana plant species and learn about sustainable produce cultivation. He has also overseen safety initiatives including an app-controlled access system and air quality monitors and vape detectors on campus.
What the award means
Wax said everyone who was nominated has exciting things happening at their schools. “When you look around the room at the incredible people who are there, representing what is happening at their campus and in their districts, there are so many good things happening around the state,” he said.
“It’s an opportunity to be able to represent and highlight what we’re doing in Livingston Parish, and in the state of Louisiana. To really tell an incredible story about what happens when people decide they’re going to give everything we’ve got to see kids grow academically.”
“We are at a spot right now where the nation is talking about, ‘Wow, special things are happening in Louisiana, and special things are happening in Livingston Parish.’ So I think it’s a really great chance to be able to highlight that.
“That honor of being selected for Principal of the Year really is just an opportunity to represent all of the incredible things that are happening and to highlight some of the key work that people are doing.”
In addition to leading DSJH, Wax was also named to the board of the directors for the Louisiana Association of Principals in July.
Passion for education runs deep
Wax knew from a young age he wanted to be a school principal, thanks in part to his father.
“My dad was the principal of Denham Springs High School,” he explained. “Everybody thought it was such a great party trick to ask the six-year-old, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ And I would always say, ‘I want to be the principal!’ It’s what I’ve always wanted to do.”
“I love the opportunities that it provides to be able to make an impact on on young people,” he said.
“I grew up in a small town where you couldn’t go to the grocery store without people saying, ‘Oh, there’s Mr. Wax,’ my dad,” Wax continued. “And they would always add to it, ‘I appreciate what you did for my son,’ or, ‘Thank you for helping our family.’ There are so many opportunities to be able to truly care for community members that go beyond the school walls, and I knew that that was what I wanted to do.”
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