The Social Studies Department here at CAJSHS continues to expand every day. It has introduced more than 3 new classes for students to take the 2018-19 school year. With so many outstanding teachers in the school, and many incredible teachers just within the Social Studies Department, it is hard to select just one to put in the spotlight.

Mr. D. Billotte teaches Economics, Psychology, Sociology, and USPA-AP for juniors and seniors. Beginning his teaching here in 1987, he is the teacher in the Social Studies Department who has taught here the longest. He attended Clarion University and graduated in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science degree in History. He then continued his education attaining his Master’s in Curriculum and Teaching from Clarion in 2009.

Asked what made him want to become a teacher, he states, “I got a push from my History professor…Dr. Anne L. Day. After my first field experience teaching, I knew it was exactly what I needed and wanted to be.”

When you have a class with Mr. Billotte, along with learning the curriculum, you also learn life lessons you can take along with you after high school. Some of his many pieces of advice are: “Take as much as you can of those people you have crossed paths with. Never be deterred in what you are seeking in your life. Appreciate your successes, your struggles, and aspire to be like those that came before you. Be humble, too.”

He always says he learns as much from his students as they learn from him. He explains, “They are what motivates me each and every day.” When being a teacher there are good days and bad days but Mr. Billotte always likes to stay positive stating, “Believe there are no big challenges…just everyday ones.  I like to think they are opportunities as opposed to challenges. Each and every day we both have the opportunity to do better, be better, and to challenge each other to achieve that. It will always be a two-way street in being a teacher.”

Although Mr. Billotte enjoys teaching, he, like every teacher, needs free time. In his free time he enjoys “lots of hikes and swimming in the summer. I like to travel and go deep sea fishing for Amberjack and Bluefish.” He does all of this with his four-legged companion, “my Akita, ZurieLeFleury.”

Mr. Billotte is one of the most talented teachers here at CAJSHS and you really can learn a lot from him and the way he teaches. He leaves  students with one last piece of advice: “Always take time to think and to appreciate your life journey. You get one opportunity.”