It’s time to be a grandpa

At the beginning of his career at East Elementary School, Andy Schemenaur taught his own son in his classroom.

Now as Schemenaur, East Elementary’s principal, prepares to retire after more than 25 years in education, three of his grandchildren are enrolled at the school.

“I had my son in my class as a fourth grader, and a bunch of guys his age, they’re all married off now of course, but they have children here now. It’s so neat and rewarding,” Schemenaur said. “The crazy thing about that is that, I started here in fourth grade with my son and I’m ending with his son going into fourth grade.”

He’s choosing to retire because of another family member, his wife Pam. They made a commitment that they would retire as soon as they could and devote five years to each other. Pam worked in finance, and between their individual careers and raising a family, Schemenaur said there’s a lot of missed time to make up for.

“My wife retired last year, and I’ve admired that so much … I’m also a farmer, I farm and I have corn and beans and wheat and I have a herd of cattle, and I’m ready to start taking care of that livestock,” Schemenaur said. “I’ve always wanted to be a full time farmer, it just never happened. I’ve always had a secondary job.”

When he started working in education, there weren’t many men employed in elementary schools. At one point, Schemenaur said he was one of only two male teachers in a first grade classroom in the entire state.

He began teaching in the late 1980s after working in the automobile industry in management. He had been given the opportunity to move anywhere in the United States, but decided to stick close to home in Jay County, where his family has lived for generations, and finish up his teaching degree at Ball State University.

After working as a teacher at East Elementary for a few years, Schemenaur became principal first at Pennville Elementary, then East Jay Middle School, West Jay Middle School and finally East Elementary, with a stint as a teacher in between.

Under his leadership, East Elementary was honored in 2014 as a National Blue Ribbon School, one of only nine in the state and 337 nationwide to earn the recognition that year.

“I’ve been one of those people who’s kind of been a servant, and if I’m going to miss something personally it’s going to be that,” Schemenaur said. “I believe that’s why I got into it. A late start, I’ll give you that, I didn't get into it until I was in my 30s, but I waited on purpose until I was ready … I’m just going to miss serving kids and being responsible for that.”

This summer, Schemenaur is planning to focus full-time on his farm, repairing run-down buildings and putting in the crop for the season. He wants to travel with his wife and is looking forward to having more time to spend with his family — he’ll still see his grandkids often, including a baby grandchild, just in a different capacity.

“(Pam is) babysitting now so she gets to babysit all four kids. I’m going to continue to see all the kids, not in this setting but I’ll get to see them every day, and I hope to be a little bit different,” Schemenaur said. “I won’t be the principal so much, I’ll be the grandpa. That’s what I want to be.”