BATON ROUGE — Principal Kathie Johnson, who recently beat cancer, thought she was going into school for a routine meeting when she received the surprise of a lifetime. 

On Wednesday, students and staff at Villa Del Rey Creative Sciences and Arts Magnet School wore green to honor their principal, and the Belaire High School band led her in a personal parade. 

Johnson took an intermittent leave from the school in the fall semester after she was diagnosed with Large B-cell lymphoma. 

"She wanted to ensure that her students and staff experienced as little disruption as possible," East Baton Rouge Schools said. 

In April 2026, she received the news that she was cancer-free and, on April 27, she rang the bell commemorating the end of her chemotherapy treatments. 

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