It’s clear by all Janice Montgomery has done that she loves and values education. It has been her vocation and passion for nearly four decades, and she has either directly or indirectly positively impacted the schooling of many children in Bartholomew County.
That’s why she was inducted recently into the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. Hall of Fame.
Consider the various capacities in which she has supported education in the public school district:
- Substitute teacher at Richards and Schmitt elementary schools
- Full-time teacher and assistant principal at Southside Elementary
- K-12 program director at the Center for Teaching and learning and the Columbus Learning Center
- Executive director of the Bartholomew Consolidated School Foundation
- Assistant principal at Parkside and Taylorsville elementary schools
- Role of schoolmarm at historic Simmons School in Hope, teaching students about school life in 1892
That list runs the gamut and demonstrates a continued willingness to support the education of local children.
Montgomery, who also taught at Columbus Christian School, has assisted in another way, too.
Last year she led fundraising efforts to restore two bronze statues (“Puddles” and “Frog Pond’) in front of the Bartholomew Consolidated School School Corp. administration building that she described as public symbols of education. The statues were part of a well-known and beloved series of sculptures commissioned by Arvin Industries, which once had its headquarters at the current school administration building. “Puddles” was stolen in 2012, and a few years later “Frog Pond” was put into storage for safekeeping.
Educators such as Montgomery are gems for any school district because they strongly believe in the value of education and do what it takes to deliver on that mission.
Montgomery’s varied contributions have benefited many school children, making her a great choice to be inducted into the school district’s hall of fame.
