Sammi Caillouet has always loved reading, and it’s what made teaching English a natural fit – “to get paid to talk about literature with kids, I’d have done it for free if I didn’t have to pay bills,” she quipped.
Caillouet taught English for nearly 25 years, the final 11 of those at Harry Hurst Middle School. There was only one job, she said, that she was willing to leave that behind for – Caillouet now prepares the next generation of teachers for the classroom, as she teaches Educators Rising at the Satellite Center.
“If I can lead a kid to a path that would make them half as happy as I’ve been in this career – I just don’t think there’s any other job where you find such fulfillment from your work,” said Caillouet. “Leaving my gifted English classroom was a very tough decision. This was the only job I’d have left that for.”
It’s a shifting of gears from teaching English, or any traditional subject for that matter.
“I’m not teaching them how to teach English or math or science or anything like that,” said Caillouet. “I’m teaching them about teaching humans. That’s what I always tell them. I’m teaching them how to teach humans. So, to teach them kindness and to understand their students and kind of accept them and to know how to build community in their classroom.”
As much as Caillouet loves teaching literature, she said this felt like a calling she couldn’t pass up. It was the chance to help shape the next generation of teachers.
“Education is just so important … being the teacher that kids need, any way that I can encourage that, it just feels like my life is purposeful,” she said.
One of the most important aspects of the course, she said, is that it gives students an early window into what teaching can be like for them, and if it’s ultimately the career path that’s right for them. Better to learn that now, she said, than after a few years – and potentially thousands of dollars – of college.
“We don’t need kids to find out after a year in college that this wasn’t for me,” said Caillouet. “This really gives them a great experience of whether they want to do it or they don’t.”
Educators Rising introduces high school students to education as a profession through dual enrollment college courses, classroom observations, and hands-on teaching experience.
One element of the course is that students spend Thursdays visiting elementary and middle schools throughout the parish. Instead of seeing class as students, they begin watching as future teachers.
“They’re amazed by so many things teachers are doing that they never noticed before,” Caillouet said. “They’ve really never seen it from this perspective, from kind of that eye of the teacher.”
Beyond teaching at the Satellite Center, Caillouet has helped develop curriculum for the state’s Department of Education, teaches for REACH University (a nationally accredited online college for people who want to be teachers) and works with aspiring teachers already employed in schools.
She has been an educator on both sides of the river here in St. Charles Parish – she’s taught at Carver Early Learning Center, Luling Elementary, Norco Elementary, St. Rose Elementary and New Sarpy Elementary before her time at Harry Hurst, where she earned Middle School Teacher of the Year honors in the district during her tenure. She has taught at the Satellite Center since the 2023-24 school year.
When a former student lets her know that she’s inspired them, it’s all the more fuel for her.
“It’s the reason you keep doing this, because it is a hard job,” said Caillouet. “And I try explaining to the kids – you don’t always realize the impact you have in the moment.
“I’ve had kids tell me they didn’t feel like they fit in anywhere, and then they came into my class and fit right in. And to be able to create that welcoming environment, it just feels great.”
