An open house was held July 10 at Perryville Elementary School to introduce its new principal, Dr. Amy Dill, to the community.
She began her new position on July 1, with the retirement of interim principal Jeff Steffens.
Dill grew up in Granite City, Ill., but she and her husband, Dr. Scott Gill—the former superintendent of the Poplar Bluff R-I School District—have lived in Missouri for 29 years.
“We moved all over,” Dill said. “We taught right around the Lake of the Ozarks, and then we taught in Houston, Missouri. I was in Poplar Bluff for nine years.”
Beginning in 2016, she served as the elementary principal at O’Neal Elementary in Poplar Bluff, where Dill led her students and staff to achieve 100% on the Missouri Annual Performance Report. The school is similar to Perryville Elementary in size, with 350 students and 53 employees. This is her 16th year in administration.
Dill, who said she was seeking an opportunity to join District 32, joins Assistant Principal Leslie Ackermann at the elementary school, which serves 420 students in grades 3-5.
She explained that she had previously worked with Perryville Superintendent Dr. Fara Jones in Poplar Bluff.
“Dr. Jones was my boss, and when I saw that she had an opening for a principal, I jumped on it,” she said. “I immediately wanted to work with her in Perryville. I've heard such nice things about Perryville, and it's such a nice town. I just love the focus on community, like the Park Center. It's such a nice, clean town. I fell in love with it immediately.
Dill visited campus several times and was impressed by what she saw.
“The District 32 campus is beautiful,” she said. “I am excited to lead a grades 3-5 building. I want to get to know the teachers and the community and bring to the table anything I can do to help the teachers and students.”
Dr. Dill earned her teaching degree from Missouri State University and a Master of Education in educational administration with a K-12 administrative certification from Southwest Baptist University. She earned a specialist in education in educational administration in 2012 from Southwest Baptist University, where she earned a Doctor of Education in 2016.
Dill began her career in 2000 as a special education teacher at Macks Creek R-V schools. In 2007, she moved to Houston R-I as a third-grade teacher and became the elementary school counselor in 2009. She then served as the district’s director of special services from 2010-2015 while also serving as the elementary principal. In 2026, she accepted the director of special education position at the Exceptional Child Education Cooperative, where she served 13 school districts and oversaw the teaching, therapy, and diagnostic staff.
Dr. Dill has also served as an adjunct professor at Southwest Baptist University, teaching school administration, curriculum and instruction, special programs, and special education courses.
Dill and her husband are the parents of two daughters. Moira is attending nursing college at Missouri State University in Springfield. Their oldest daughter, Caroline, passed away in the fall after achieving her dream of becoming a teacher.
When she isn’t working, Dill said she loves reading, hiking, cooking, and baking.
