After working as an insurance claims adjuster for 11 years, Lorri Caldwell, 51, fell into a career as a teacher.

The company that she worked for began relocating all their local employees. Sulphur born-and-raised, Caldwell was determined to not leave Lake Charles.

So she picked up substitute teaching.

“I knew immediately that I wanted to be a teacher, and I loved the middle school level… Being in the classroom was like finding what I didn’t know I was missing. It was just such fun sharing my love of literature and writing with the students and watching them grow and learn.”

She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from McNeese State University in 1994. After making the decision to become an educator she went back to earn a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT), an alternative certification program housed at McNeese created for those with a bachelor’s degree outside of education that plan to become a teacher.

She didn’t stop there. In 2015, she earned her gifted certification, and in December 2022 she graduated with a Doctor of Educational Leadership degree from Liberty University.

She is 17 years into the gig.

She started at S.J. Welsh Middle School, where she taught seventh and eighth grade English Language Arts (ELA). She moved to F.K. White Middle School in 2013 to teach all three grade levels Gifted ELA, and to Barbe High School in 2021 to teach Gifted English II for one year.

She is no longer in the classroom, and currently serves as administrative coordinator of gifted and advanced studies for the Calcasieu Parish School Board. In this role, she and her team manage the gifted programs at all grade levels, including SPARK. They also oversee advanced learning programs like Advanced Placement and training for high school teachers.

Education is the gateway to life and all it has to offer, and contributing to that gate is what Caldwell enjoys about her career.

“No matter what goals a student may have, teachers can offer educational support to that student to help them grow and learn. Education does not have to be the same for every person. It develops, evolves and changes just as students do. The joy in watching a student grow and knowing that you helped that student is just priceless.”

This joy was a daily occurrence, and though she isn’t in the classroom anymore, she gets to experience it again through the successes of her former students.

“I loved teaching, and I love seeing prior students now and hearing what they are doing and accomplishing in their lives. They remind me that teaching was always about the love of learning and creating a community of learners.”

A strong community of learners leads to a productive community of citizens, she said. The programming offered by CPSB paves that way for the growth that “builds back into communities” through the “multitude of programs with so many different educational pathways” that are offered throughout the district, she said.

“Students have the amazing opportunity to pursue learning in educational fields that interest them and can then, in turn, use that education to build their own successes in life and become an active member of the community.”