Former Faculty & Athlete: 55 years later, Fisher Early Childhood still a family affair

Amanda McElfresh, The Advertiser, April 28, 2016

Decades before early childhood education was a major topic, David and Shirley Fisher were preparing youngsters for school.

It started in 1946, when Shirley Fisher began working as a second-grade teacher in Terrebonne Parish.

“She had 46 children in her class at once, and she was barely 19 years old,” David Fisher recalled. “Some of her early students didn’t speak a lot of English, and many had special needs. I really believe that early work fashioned the direction she took later on.”

The couple would create Fisher Early Childhood Development, a learning center for young children.

This year, the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame Laureate Award will be presented to David Fisher, who will accept on behalf of he and his wife, who passed away last year.

DAVID FISHER: Through the decades, a Ragin’ Cajun to the core

The Fishers spent a few years teaching in Jennings in 1950s before moving to a home on Antigua Drive in Lafayette in 1959.

“There were a lot of young families in town at that point, and a lot of people who knew Shirley,” Fisher said. “They knew she was a teacher, and they started asking her to get their children ready for first grade. There was no kindergarten back then.”

Shirley Fisher began working with seven children in 1961. The enrollment steadily grew, and at one point, there were 142 kindergarten-age children taking lessons in the Fisher home.

With consistent demand and a need for more space and staff, the Fishers moved the operation to Ridge Road in 1970. A second location on East Farrell Road opened in 1998.

David Fisher, who taught and coached at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, helped his wife as the business developed.

DAVID FISHER: Through the decades, a Ragin’ Cajun to the core

The Fishers spent a few years teaching in Jennings in 1950s before moving to a home on Antigua Drive in Lafayette in 1959.

Shirley Fisher began working with seven children in 1961. The enrollment steadily grew, and at one point, there were 142 kindergarten-age children taking lessons in the Fisher home.

With consistent demand and a need for more space and staff, the Fishers moved the operation to Ridge Road in 1970. A second location on East Farrell Road opened in 1998.

David Fisher, who taught and coached at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, helped his wife as the business developed.

When public schools began instituting kindergarten, the Fishers adjusted lessons to make them suitable for children between the ages of 2 and 4. David Fisher also studied ways to merge physical and academic development.

”We made sure to develop a learning program. We made sure it was different for each age level,” Fisher said. “When you’re working with 3- and 4-year-olds, there are concepts they can learn and grasp.”

The business still is a family affair, with three Fisher children now running the centers. Shirley Fisher’s influence looms large, and her husband said the award is a testament to her.

“It justifies all of the effort my wife put into it. It means the fulfillment of the dream she had,” he said. “To me, this is not about me. It’s about the vision my wife had.”

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