Cecil J. Picard – Upper Elementary Education, May 1959

Cecil J. Picard

Graduated May, 1959

Major: Upper Elementary Education

Dear Dr. Dugas:

Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to USL’s College of Education Book of Letters.  I am honored to be included in this commemoration of the College’s Academic Showcase.

It was only natural for me to enroll in Southwestern Louisiana Institute after graduating from high school in 1955.  The campus was only fifteen miles from my home in Maurice, and I knew that I would return to Vermilion Parish after completing my degree.  Despite the fact that my father was a principal, I did not enter SLI with the intention of becoming an educator; however, it was apparent after a few classes that I would naturally gravitate toward teaching.  I was offered a job at LeBlanc Elementary School in Erath.  After I received my upper elementary education degree in 1959,  I spent the next twenty-one years as a teacher, coach and principal in Vermilion Parish Schools.

My world was defined by the Acadiana area around Lafayette and a regional college, such as SLI, equipped me with all of the knowledge, skills, and education necessary to succeed against my competition.  SLI also provided me with a foundation upon which to grow as my universe expanded and my competition increased.

                Twenty years after graduation, the people of Vermilion Parish asked me to be their legislative voice in Baton Rouge, and that SLI foundation was called upon to support the acquisition of new skills and greater knowledge.

                My education prepared me to collaborate with citizens from all across this state so that we could set the most effective goals and plan the most efficient strategies in Louisiana’s best interest.  It gave me the ability to learn continually innovative ways to share information and look for creative ways to adapt that technology to the classroom.  SLI taught me to utilize my skills to the best of my ability, to always keep them sharp, and to look for ways to make them stronger in order to keep pace with my ever changing competition.  The lessons of communication, collaboration, and coordination helped me build the bridges and form the coalitions necessary to be successful in my position as State Superintendent of Education.

                One of my professors once told me that the main part of intellectual education is not simply the acquisition of facts, but learning how to make those facts live.  That is the underlying theme of our current education reform initiative, which encourages our students to learn the critical thinking skills necessary to become productive members of society.  I continue to emphasize a need for lifelong learning so that we can all keep ourselves prepared for changing competition.

                I am proud to see that USL practices what it preaches.  USL has grown from a regional college to an internationally renowned university to keep pace with its competition.  Graduates had a 100% pass rate on the National Teachers Exam and the Nursing License Exam, led the state in acceptance to medical school, and continue to lead the state in first-time pass rate of the CPA exam.  The National Wetlands Research Center was awarded to USL because the University’s renowned biology department and the nationally recognized computer science and engineering programs continue to attract business, technology, and research to the state.

                USL and I have grown and progressed together and I am proud to say that USL contributed significantly to my development.

                Among the important lessons I learned during my student days at SLI are these:

                                Be flexible and adaptable; this is particularly helpful as technology has entered the world of education, work and business.  I now know how to use e-mail.

                                Share information in innovative ways (including e-mail).

                                Set goals and plan strategies to meet those goals (draw up a lesson plan).

                                Care about children, families and all people.  Before I agree to change, or propose one, I think back to what I learned in college about child development and teaching  strategies to determine if the proposed changes are realistic, and will truly help children.  (After all, children do grow up to become adults.)

                I wish USL another century of preparing successful students from Acadiana, throughout Louisiana and around the world, to take their places as leaders in the new millennium.

Cecil J. Picard

State Superintendent of Education