As the 2023-2024 school year comes to a close at Greenwood Community Schools, some longtime administrators and teachers are saying goodbye to the district they’ve called home for years.
Assistant Superintendent Todd Prichett, Greenwood Community High School Assistant Principal Karen Busch and Greenwood Middle School Principal Chris Sutton are a few of the administrators retiring this year. Teachers retiring this year include Pam Wishmeyer, a longtime GCHS mathematics teacher, and Andrea Held, a third-grade teacher at Isom Elementary.
The Daily Journal spoke with them about their time in their district, their plans and what they’ll miss most about Greenwood and teaching. Here’s what they had to say.
Karen Busch
Karen Busch has seen a lot of students walk through the doors of Greenwood Community High School over the years. Although she’s been teaching for 41 years, the last 34 have been at Greenwood.
Busch started in the math department, but for the last 12 years, she’s been an assistant principal. Now at the end of the school year, she is retiring from the high school.
It’s time, she said.
“I love my job. I love it. There’s not another profession I would go into,” Busch said. “But I always promised myself I would leave before I hated my job and before I felt like I couldn’t do my job anymore.”
Busch still loves her job, but she wanted to leave on a good note and on her own terms — that’s why she picked this year. She also wants to spend more time with her grandchildren, she said.
The education profession has changed over the years, but one thing that hasn’t is the sense of community at Greenwood, she said.
“It’s still family. It still has people who care, still has teachers who I believe are awesome,” Busch said.
That being said, one thing that has changed is the attitude towards education. Some people do not value the education as much as before, she said.
As her time at Greenwood comes to an end, Busch says she’ll miss the people. She feels they have an awesome staff, she said.
She also is worried about losing a sense of purpose. She’s been going to school every day since she was six, so the change will be different.
One of the biggest things Busch will miss is helping people change their lives. She’s made a difference in people’s lives over the last 40 years, she said.
Busch thinks she’ll go back into the classroom one day, as she loves teaching. It was just a matter of having to do it full time that is hard and wears on her, she said.
She wants the community to know the district is a good place and the community does have an effect on the school. Education is a lifelong thing, and the community can make a difference, she said.
“That’s what Greenwood does, if they can just keep that spirit of family within this community,” Busch said.
Todd Pritchett
In his 33 years in education, Todd Pritchett has worn many hats — teacher, head football coach, assistant principal, principal and even superintendent.
For the last 11 years, he’s been at Greenwood. Pritchett’s first title was director of fiscal services but it was eventually changed to assistant superintendent for business and finance, he said.
Pritchett and his wife had always planned to look at retirement around this time, and now it makes sense to move forward with it, he said.
His time at Greenwood has been great. It was the right fit at the right time for him and his family, he said.
“It’s been everything that we had hoped it would be,” Pritchett said.
In the school system, teachers and administrators are working to provide opportunities for communities and children. It’s always rewarding to see the accomplishments of students and staff — something Pritchett will miss. He’ll also miss the camaraderie and relationships working in a school district full of great people, Pritchett said.
Over the years, Prtichett has overseen a lot of building projects and maintenance — including the construction of a new middle school. He’s always loved the interaction and it’s been neat to get perspectives from parents, employees and the school board as they’ve made improvements over the years, he said.
Right now, Pritchett doesn’t know exactly what he’ll do next. He already does consulting with other schools on the side and he expects that to continue, he said.
Pritchett does plan to take some time to do things he’s always wanted to do with his wife, like traveling, he said.
What will stick with Pritchett the most will be the support the district receives from the community. It has been nice to see so many people “pushing in the same direction,” he said.
“My biggest takeaway from Greenwood is just the support the school [district] receives and the support employees of the school [district] received from the school board,” Pritchett said. “It’s just been a positive experience overall for me here.”
Chris Sutton
Longtime Greenwood Middle School Principal Chris Sutton left earlier than he initially planned to in April. Sutton had always planned to retire at the end of this school year, but when an opportunity unexpectedly came up, he knew he had to take it, he said.
“I told Dr. Terhune, and I said, ‘I’ll finish out the school year unless something came about, that is something I just couldn’t turn down for myself and my family,’” Sutton said. “… He was gracious enough [that] he understood that.”
That opportunity was becoming director of operations for St. Vincent de Paul in Indianapolis. In this role, he helps ensure things are running smoothly for those in need of their services, like their food pantry, he said.
Before his 11 years as GMS’s principal, Sutton spent 10 years as its assistant principal and athletic director and 10 years as a social studies teacher. His entire career has been at Greenwood, he said.
During Sutton’s tenure, GMS moved from its longtime home on Madison Avenue to a new modern building on Averitt Road. Being able to be part of that process is something he’s very proud of, he said.
“That was something that really thankful to be able to do, and very proud of, of getting that new school going getting off the ground,” Sutton said.
Technology has also changed quite a bit during his 31 years in education. When he started they had chalkboards and no computers. Now they can project computer screens for students. The delivery of curriculum has changed, he said.
Social media is another development that came up during his time at Greenwood, though it’s been a detriment to the students, Sutton said.
“I think they get into things that they don’t need to be into at this age,” he said.
One of the things he misses most about his time at Greenwood is the students. It had been a wonderful experience at Greenwood, and the community has always been very supportive and helpful, he said.
Greenwood is a “perfectly sized” school district, allowing teachers and staff to get the know students better than what is possible at a larger district, Sutton added.
“We always kind of said that we were always family and just sometimes dysfunctional at times here and there,” he said. “But we always came back around, loved each other. We were pretty tight-knit, really good community and I’m very grateful for Greenwood.”
Pam Wishmeyer
For nearly 50 years, Pam Wishmeyer has been a constant presence at Greenwood Community High School. She started at the school 47 years ago after spending three years at a middle school in Bloomington.
Wishmeyer, who started as a business teacher at GCHS before becoming a math teacher, is retiring at the end of this school year. She’s seen technology change significantly over the years, going from Ditto machines to Xerox to Chromebooks.
She even remembers grading by hand, she said.
Since the coronavirus pandemic, Wishmeyer has noticed a change among students where they are not as focused on education as they were in the past. They are not as willing to put in the extra work, she said.
Wishmeyer made an agreement with Busch that if Busch retired she would too. Otherwise, she would’ve kept on going forever, she said.
She’s also retiring because she wants to spend time helping her parents, who are approaching 100 and dealing with health issues, and her grandchildren, she said.
“I think after 50 years, it’s probably time,” Wishmeyer said “So that’s why. Otherwise, I enjoy teaching; I love my kids that I’m working with and they’re all sad that I’m leaving.”
Wishmeyer has loved the parents she’s worked with over the years, who have always been “very supportive” and helpful when needed. The students have appreciated the time she has spent with them tutoring them, she said.
One thing Wishmeyer will not miss is grading papers, she said.
Although she’s retiring, Wishmeyer will still be around. She will be working with the school’s color guard and bands doing a lot of their fundraising, which she already does now.
Wishmeyer is the founder of the Indiana High School Color Guard Association and she plans to continue to stay involved there. She’s also received permission from the district to do a project keeping track of where kids are in the right math classes at Greenwood, she said.
She also will continue to tutor students, she said.
“I just can’t imagine not coming to Greenwood,” Wishmeyer said.
Andrea Held
For 34 years, Andrea Held has occupied the same classroom at Isom Elementary. She’s even taught at the same grade level, third grade, for that time too.
But now is the time for her to retire and pass it on to someone else. It will be an adjustment not coming to school, she said.
Technology has changed vastly since Held started. She didn’t even have a phone on her desk at first.
“That was one of the big deals within my first three years, that we actually got a phone in our classroom, on our desks, to be able to call parents or even being able to call the office,” she said.
Now kids have Chromebooks to take home and work on assignments, she said.
The students and their families have changed too but one thing hasn’t: being there for the students.
“More than anything, it’s just making sure that all of their needs are met. That hasn’t changed,” Held said.
Held thinks she is going to miss the interaction with her students and co-teachers the most. She has enjoyed working with other teachers within her 3rd grade team, she said.
“I’m going to miss them a lot. I’ll miss this family atmosphere here at Isom as well as the smiling faces of the students,” she said.
As for the future, Held plans to spend more time relaxing and spending time with her granddaughter. She also does a lot of sewing and alternations for wedding dresses and prom dresses on the side, and expects to spend more time doing that too, she said.
“I’ve enjoyed Greenwood. I’ve seen Greenwood grow to a large community and it’s a great place for your children to grow,” Held said. “I do believe that Greenwood teachers have the best intentions of helping our students become great individuals.”
