2018 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 107
BY SENATOR BOUDREAUX
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To express the sincere condolences of the Legislature of Louisiana upon the death of Mary
A. Washington, a teacher and educator and longtime leader of and advocate for the
Louisiana Association of Educators.
WHEREAS, Mary A. Washington was born August 17, 1954, to Paul Washington
Sr. and Orelia Leger Washington in Branch, Louisiana, located in Acadia parish and she died
unexpectedly, but peacefully, in her sleep, on April 4, 2018; and
WHEREAS, at the time of her death, Ms. Washington was serving as the chairperson
of the Acadia Parish Council, coordinator of her Bible study group at St. Theresa Church,
Crowley, and a member of the Legion of Mary; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Washington graduated from Crowley High School in Crowley,
Louisiana, and earned a bachelor's degree in education, graduating cum laude from the
University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette: and
WHEREAS, later in her career, Mary Washington returned to the role of student and
earned her master's degree and received certification as a reading specialist; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Washington taught in the Lafayette Parish school system for
thirty-four years, many of those years as an elementary math specialist, seeing potential in
all who came across her path, especially her students, instilling in them a sense that they all
had greatness in them; and
WHEREAS, Mary Washington served as president of the Lafayette Parish
Association of Educators and later as president and chief executive officer of the Louisiana
Association of Educators, known as the LAE, at a time when it represented nearly twenty
thousand public school teachers and support employees; she was immensely proud that
teachers statewide received substantial raises in five of the six years that she headed the
LAE, and she relished her role as the representative of the association's members before the
Louisiana Legislature, among other duties; and
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WHEREAS, Ms. Washington's career in teaching was multifaceted, using her
expertise to design and conduct various workshops, including those that focused on
classroom management, student motivation, analyzing test scores, and understanding high
stakes testing; and
WHEREAS, Mary Washington was appointed by five consecutive governors, from
Governor Roemer through Governor Jindal, to serve on various state boards and
commissions, including Louisiana Education Achievement and Results Now (LEARN)
Commission, a group that developed a comprehensive and ambitious plan that pulled
together the state reform efforts in education, stated goals for improvement in a variety of
areas, and provided fourteen million dollars to local school systems in the 1990s; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Washington also served on the Lafayette Parish Blue Ribbon
Commission on Education and the advisory board of the Louisiana Systemic Initiative
Project at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Washington was an appointed member of the Louisiana Board of
Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), and she served on the transition teams of
Governor Edwin Edwards and Lafayette Mayor Kenny Bowen, serving as the only female
educator in that group; and
WHEREAS, Mary Washington was a member of the Louisiana Democratic State
Central Committee and she spent her professional career fighting for quality public schools,
the basic right of every child to receive a high quality education, and for teachers and school
support personnel to be treated with dignity and respect; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Washington became an icon as an educator and a civic leader, and
she was known for her eloquence, knowledge, and her deep commitment to quality education
in her native state; and
WHEREAS, during her noteworthy career, Ms. Washington received numerous
awards and accolades, including; being recognized as "A Woman Who Means Business" in
2000, Lafayette Democratic Party Lifetime Achievement Award, she was a graduate of the
Council for a Better Louisiana's Leadership Louisiana program, and she received numerous
commendations for her leadership in public education from governors Edwin Edwards and
Mike Foster, from Attorney General Richard Ieyoub and from the members of BESE and
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she was honored with "Mary A. Washington Day" in Crowley, Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, beyond her work in public school education, Mary Washington
treasured spending time with her family and spoiling her nieces and nephews while instilling
in them much wisdom and pushing them to never give up and not to limit their dreams, all
lessons that blessed the lives of the next generation of her family; and
WHEREAS, Mary A. Washington saw potential in everyone who crossed her path,
from second grade public school students to governors and other state leaders, and she
demanded greatness from everyone, especially herself, giving freely of her gifts and talents,
including her kindness and sense of humor, to enrich all the lives she touched; and
WHEREAS, with a deep faith and a belief that God placed people in her life
purposefully, she took note of the talents and gifts each was given and spoke faith to those
fortunate enough to cross her path, encouraging them and leading them to see themselves
as she saw them; full of promise and abilities, only waiting to be developed; and
WHEREAS, in a life of faith, love, encouragement, and a focus on education as a
means for everyone to develop their God-given talents and strengths, Mary A. Washington
served her God through her dedication to an educational system in Louisiana that serves all
Louisianians and maximizes the talents of each and every child seeking that quality
education.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
express sincere condolences upon the death of Mary A. Washington, teacher and educator
and longtime leader of and advocate for the Louisiana Association of Educators.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Ms. Keisha d'Augereaux, Ms. Washington's niece, on behalf of her family.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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