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Principal Priscilla Cormier at Seventh Ward

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Earlier in the school year, Mrs. Cormier sat down to lunch with some of her students.

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From her time at Gueydan: Mrs. Cormier accepts a check from Judy LeBlanc of Les Dames de Gueydan in 2008.

End of an educational journey

Cormier leaves education at the end of the school year

Over the summer, she had an accident that forced her to look long and hard at where she was and where she wanted to go.

“I was lucky to walk away from it,” Priscilla Cormier, the principal at Seventh Ward Elementary, said.

A serious fall helped her decide she needed to focus her life now on her family and begin a new adventure. With that realization came the decision to retire from the public school system, effective this June.

Cormier has been working in education for many years, a lot of them here in Vermilion Parish, where she was also born and raised.

A native of Forked Island, Cormier knew from an early age that education is where she wanted to end up.

“Education has always been my passion,” she explained. “I think I was born wanting to be a teacher.”

She started in a K-12 school in Cameron Parish, and fell in love with the “little ones,” she says, which become the first passion.

Then, she fell in love with the middle school classes at her next school. They provided their own, unique challenges, and she grew to love them.

After that, some time as an assistant principal at Gueydan High helped her fall in love with that age group. Now, back at the elementary level, she couldn’t tell you which she loved most.

Her passion for educations extends to helping children with disabilities. “There’s always been a soft spot in my heart for them,” she explained. “I could never learn enough about how to help them learn and grow.”

She began her college career at Louisiana Tech University. She married a man who went into aviation and the Air Force. He was transferred to Lake Charles, and she transferred her credits to McNeese State University and graduated there.

A job fair in Cameron Parish led to an immediate contract, where she worked at Jackson Bayou School.

Eventually, she worked her way to Sulphur (she was living there but working a distance away). Then, her husband was transferred to New Iberia, and she picked up a job at the newly opened Iberia Middle School.

There was a job opening at Forked Island, and she applied on the last day of applications being accepted. She filled out the form and was accepted, bringing her to her home parish. From Forked Island, she went to serve as assistant principal at Gueydan High. Five years ago, she took a new job at Seventh Ward Elementary, a job she fell in love with quickly.

“It’s like I died and went to Heaven,” she said with a warm smile.

She does admit that being a school administrator was the last thing she ever wanted. But, with her time working in school district central offices, she grew to know and understand what it took to be a successful one.

“I began to realize that being a principal was the best way to incorporate what I had done into one school,” she explained. “I could do everything I had been to trained to do in one place.”

After 30 years out of the parish, coming back to Forked Island was a shock, but it was a pleasant one. Ending her career at home, much less, didn’t seem to be in the cards.

But, she counts herself lucky. The accident in the summer, along with some personal introspection, led her to the decision to walk away now and focus on the important things.

“I’ve always put God first, family second, and work third,” she explained. “I made this decision so I could spend more time with my family while I can.”

Along with spending time with family, she doesn’t want to quit teaching altogether. She’s eyeing the possibility of community rosary and Bible studies.

She leaves behind one piece of advice for anyone who wants to become an educator:

“Whatever you do, do it for the children.”

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