It’s a time of transition for retiring Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. employees. Nineteen teachers or administrators and 20 support staff members are wrapping up more than 1,000 years of service combined as the 2017-2018 school year ends.
Today marks for final day for a dozen BCSC teachers, including two who shared thoughts about their careers after more than 30 years each in Columbus area classrooms.
Helping others learn is just one aspect of the job that Central Middle School health teacher Jo Anne Friedgood will reminisce about following her retirement today.
Friedgood is closing out a 38-year career with BCSC that began in 1980 as a elementary physical education instructor, a job she held for 17 years. Her most recent 21 years have been spent teaching health and physical education to middle school students at Central.
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Along the way, Friedgood also had a chance to interact with students outside the classroom — including eight years as head gymnastics coach and four years as head tennis coach at Columbus North, as well as eight years as assistant gymnastics coach at Columbus East.
Friedgood’s interest in education began early as she was growing up in Fountain City, a small community north of Richmond.
“From the time I was little, I wanted to be a teacher,” Friedgood said.
She was further inspired regarding a career in education by Greta Trieber, an internationally recognized gymnastics coach and judge at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, where Friedgood attended college.
A side benefit of teaching was being able to maintain the same schedule as her own children in the BCSC system, she said.
“It was where I belonged,” Friedgood said.
Her work as a seventh- and eighth-grade health teacher involved serious discussions on drug and alcohol abuse, as well as sexuality and development.
Being open and honest with students allowed Friedgood to gain respect from them, she said.
“I don’t sugarcoat things,” Friedgood said.
Helping students prepare for the future — and becoming responsible adults — involved answering all of their questions, including ones about sex.
Friedgood, who will turn 60 soon, said the timing is good for her to step away from the classroom and spend more time with her family, including her two daughters, one of whom lives in California and the other in Columbus, her brother and her three grandchildren.
While looking forward to more free time and relaxation, she recognizes she will miss spending time with the school children.
“I just love being around them,” Friedgood said.
Friedgood said some of her proudest moments as a teacher and coach include mentoring individual state champions in gymnastics and two state runner-up gymnastics teams.
The fact that so many of her former students have gone on to become successful also brings her joy, she said.
“I hope I was a positive role model,” Friedgood said. “They shaped me into the person I am today.”
A second retiring teacher, Lois Anderson, has spend more than two-thirds of her 32-year BCSC career at Schmitt Elementary.
Helping students reach their potential has been Anderson’s goal throughout her career, including 19 years teaching first and second grades at Schmitt, she said.
After beginning her teaching career with the Twin Lakes School Corp. in Monticello, Anderson was hired into BCSC to teach kindergarten at Fodrea Elementary School, where she stayed for five years.
Like Friedgood, Anderson also developed her interest in teaching at a young age — in second grade while an elementary student near Lafayette, following her mother in the profession, she said.
She spent the past year volunteering at Schmitt after taking a family medical leave from the district.
Anderson, 61, said she has most enjoyed seeing her students grow as individuals while building strong relationships with them as an educator — making education a good career choice for her.
“I’ve had a really nice long, wonderful career,” Anderson said. “I felt like I had an important role in their lives.”
Anderson said she learned from her students, sharing a sense of wonder and eagerness to learn among them.
“It’s so satisfying to see them be successful,” she said. “Other than my kids and being a wife, I can’t think of another job more rewarding.”
At times, teachers also find themselves providing counsel to their students, which Anderson said was a good fit.
“It was natural for me,” Anderson said.
While officially retiring, she doesn’t plan to leave the school system for good. Anderson said she intends to continuing to volunteering at Schmitt, where many of her colleagues have become good friends.
“This was what I was made to do,” Anderson said.
Knowing she made a difference in students’ lives is a point of pride for the educator.
“They need to know that you care for them,” Anderson said. “If you care, they’re going to work hard.”
Anderson will also step into retirement with a spiral book she received from current and former students detailing what they most enjoyed about her, something she said she will always treasure.
“It was an honor and pleasure to be their teacher,” Anderson said. “I have a lot of great memories.”
Her retirement plans include spending more time with her family, reading and traveling.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Jo Anne Friedgood” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Age: 59
Education: Bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from Indiana State University, master’s degree in education from Indiana Wesleyan University
Work history: Hired by Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. in 1980 to teach elementary physical education and taught at several elementary schools in the area for 17 years. She has been at Central Middle School for the past 21 years and taught health to seventh- and eighth-grade students.
Family: Two daughters, three grandchildren
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Here is a list of Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. employees who are retiring at the end of the current school year. They are listed alphabetically by job category, position and number of years served.
Certified staff
Lois Anderson, Schmitt Elementary School, first grade teacher, 32 years
Libby Arthur, Columbus North High School, social studies department chair, 37 years
Margaret “Mimi” Bingham, Columbus North High School, English teacher, 37 years
Candy Carr, Parkside Elementary School, fourth-grade accelerated program teacher, 44 1/2 years
Jamie Champlin, Columbus North High School, physics teacher, 21 years
Marcia Cheatham, Columbus North High School, science teacher, 18 years
Levena Combs, Columbus North High School, C4 business liaison, 17 years
Steve Forster, transportation and maintenance department, director of operations, 14 years
Jo Anne Friedgood, Central Middle School, health and physical education teacher, 38 years
Randy Gratz, Central Middle School, principal, 39 years
Cheryl Hodapp, Richards Elementary School, third grade teacher, 42 years
Elizabeth “Betsy” Larson, Smith Elementary School, art teacher, 34 years
Becky Morone, Parkside Elementary School, speech and hearing, 23 years
Andrea Quick, McDowell Education Center, director, 26 years
Mike Riley, Columbus North High School, C4 business teacher, 33 years
Jim Sheridan, Columbus North High School, dean, 29 years
Meika Sheridan, Taylorsville Elementary School, special education teacher, 30 1/2 years
Theresa Sublette, Columbus East High School, math teacher, 17 years
Vaughn Sylva, BCSC administration building, assistant superintendent for financial services, 32 years
Support staff
Jane Bush, Columbus North High School, special education teaching assistant, 20 years
Becky Davis, Northside Middle School, special education teaching assistant, 23 years
Jack Dunn, transportation and maintenance department, bus driver, 11 years
Teresa Farris, Clifty Creek Elementary School, Prime Time teaching assistant, 11 years
Harold Fox, Columbus Signature Academy Lincoln Campus, custodian, 15 years
Sue Heiwig, Schmitt Elementary School, special education teaching assistant, 35 years
Susan Janie Hood, Schmitt Elementary School, special education teaching assistant, 34 years
Beverly Kennedy, Columbus Signature Academy New Tech High School, nurse, 21 years
Ruth Kfoury, Richards Elementary School, special education teaching assistant, four years
Katherine Lykins, Rockcreek Elementary School, kindergarten teaching assistant, 27 years
Mary Nickerson, Columbus Signature Academy Lincoln Campus, kindergarten teaching assistant, 29 years
Larry Nolting, transportation and maintenance department, bus driver, 44 years
Deborah Owens, transportation and maintenance department, bus driver, 37 years
Judy Pitman, Columbus East High School, special education teaching assistant, 32 years
Sue Romine, Columbus East High School, special education teaching assistant, 32 years
Glenda Swanson, transportation and maintenance department, food service office personnel, 39 years
Jean Teter, Columbus North High School, special education teaching assistant, 18 years
Stephanie Tetrick, Central Middle School, custodian, nine years
Marlene Wheeler, Columbus East High School, cafeteria assistant, 28 years
June Wilson, Columbus North High School, resource teaching assistant, 15 years
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Age: 61
Education: Bachelor’s degree in elementary education from DePauw University, master’s degree in elementary education from Indiana Wesleyan University
Work history: Worked at Twin Lakes School Corp. in Monticello teaching second grade for two years before coming to Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. to teach kindergarten for five years at Fodrea Elementary School. She transferred to Schmitt Elementary School in 1999 to teach first and second grades.
Family: Married to husband John, two children
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