Educators Renew Dedication to Mission of Catholic Education

On Aug. 1, hundreds of Catholic educators throughout the Diocese of Baton Rouge converged on Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church campus in Baton Rouge, exuding an eager anticipation in welcoming students in their classroom at the beginning of the school year. 

The theme of the 2024 Catholic Educators Gathering, hosted by The Catholic Schools Office of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, was “We Are Welcome.”  

Attendees expressed their desire to invest in the lives of their students and form the next generation of educators.

“When I was 12 years old my good friend’s mother was a teacher and we helped her in the classroom. I said, ‘That’s what I want to do,’” said Rita White, a religion teacher at Redemptorist/St. Gerard Majella School in Baton Rouge, who has been an educator for 47 years.

White became interested in teaching religion at school through teaching religious education for more than 20 years at Immaculate Conception Church in Baton Rouge, her home parish for the past 40 years.

She hopes this year “to reach some of my children where they will want to become part of the faith and be more spiritual.”

Fellow Redemptorist teacher Deborah LaGarde, who teaches in a third-grade self-contained classroom, asserted that impacting students’ lives long after they leave her classroom has motivated her to teach for the past 39 years. 

“Over the years I’ve taught so many students and they give me nothing but positive responses, about how much they enjoyed it and what they’ve learned. That’s when you know you’ve done your job,” LaGarde said.

Lorenzo Foster’s teachers supported him over the years and influenced him to become a teacher.

“Some of the most important people to me, who really helped me build confidence in myself and were protective of me, were my teachers. They made a great impact on my life.

“I didn’t have the best upbringing at home, and didn’t have the best home life, so school was my sanctuary away from the things I was experiencing at home. And my teachers knew what I was going through, and they saw my ability. If it wasn’t for the impact the teachers had on my life, I probably wouldn’t have gotten out of the circumstances that I was in and become who I am meant to be,” said Foster, who has been an instructor for 15 years, the past eight of them at St. Michael the Archangel High School in Baton Rouge.

Inspired by a high school chemistry teacher who made the subject fun, Foster does the same for his students. 

“I always try to do classroom activities where my students can see science in action,” Foster attests. “My students who have gone on to take chemistry in college or even choose it as a major tell me they are able to breeze through a lot of classes. This tells me I am doing my job the right way.”

The Baton Rouge Chapter of the American Chemical Society recognized Foster’s efforts by naming him the 2021-2022 Chemistry Teacher of the Year.

For Jane Guillot, who has spent 52 years in education, family and faith drives her passion for education. She is a Title 1 Teacher and sponsor of the sodality chapter at St. Elizabeth School in Paincourtville, the only school chapter in the Diocese of Baton Rouge.

Guillot enjoys seeing the students’ faith grow, and by extension their parents’, as the students share what they learn in school.

“We’re a family – the kids, the administration, the teachers,” said Guillot, who added that the experienced staff and administration give “200 percent” in helping students and their families to be their best.

In her keynote address, Sister Judith Gomila, a Marianite Sister of the Holy Cross, commended attendees on their dedication to the mission of Catholic education and challenged them to “go out into the deep” (Luke 5).

In the passage cited, Jesus was speaking to the crowd as the disciples were disembarking and washing their nets. Jesus got into Simon Peter’s boat and told him to “put out into the deep and lower your nets for a catch.”  Peter told him, “Master we have worked hard all night, but have caught nothing. But at your command I will lower the nets.” 

When Peter and his men did so, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets were torn. They signaled to other boats to come and help them. Simon Peter fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Jesus told him not to fear because he would be a fisher of men.

“One of the symbols we use in the church is the symbol of a boat. You are already in that boat when you said ‘Yes’ to being in Catholics schools,” Sister Judith said.  “Whether you’re Catholic or not, you’re part of the original mission.”

Going out into the deep demands that they go beyond the comfortable, normal and the convenient and be witnesses, according to Sister Judith. This requires diving into the depth of their inner selves, their souls, and building a relationship with Jesus.

Just as anchors stop boats from dashing upon rocks when waves crash upon them, the anchor represents hope for Christians.

“It’s August 2024. You’re charting new waters. Set sail, push out into the deep, and recast your nets,” said Sister Judith.

Bishop Michael G. Duca referred in his Mass homily to the Gospel reading that day, (Mt 5:13-19), to urge educators to be messengers of hope and live as “salt of the earth.” 

The bishop noted that when people are “turned on” in love of something, they are filled with faith and hope.

“I hope that what we are doing is valuable and important, and with a belief that what we are handing on to these children is not just a good education, certainly a good education, but a good education in light of our faith. That is truly something that makes them salt of the earth.”

He added, “With hope, you have an imagination for possibilities. You have imaginations for answers. You're always saying the words for hope, which is not, ‘This is a terrible situation.’ It is, ‘This is a terrible situation, but I know there's an answer. And I'm going to try everything I can to find it.’”

The bishop reminded the educators to keep the energy they have alive in their hearts and know that the strength of it comes in Jesus Christ and in unity.  

“That's why we had an ending today with this Eucharist. In here is the source of our unity, the source of our strength. The source by which we become what we receive. We become light for others. And we receive a power that's stronger than even death,” the bishop said.

After Mass, the educators rededicated themselves to the mission of Catholic education in a commissioning ceremony.