PENDLETON — They saluted those who were leaving and welcomed those who are starting anew.
South Madison Community School Corp. acknowledged 14 retirees and accepted the recommendation of Jennifer Chestnut to be the new principal at Pendleton Heights Middle School, at the board’s most recent meeting.
Though Chestnut will have a new position, she is not new to the middle school.
She has been an assistant to longtime principal Dan Joyce, who was among the retirees recognized at the meeting.
Chestnut has 31 years of experience in the education field. She spent 11 years as a classroom teacher and the past 20 in administration, all in the South Madison district.
She spent the past 13 years as an assistant to Joyce.
“When we hire an assistant principal, we feel they are actually interviewing for the entire time they have been an assistant principal,” Superintendent Joe Buck said. “In Mrs. Chestnut’s case, she’s been interviewing for 20 years, so to speak.
“Many of the other applicants interviewed very well, but if you have someone who has performed well for all of those years, sometimes it’s very difficult not to make them the next principal.”
She has been part of the leadership group at the middle school, which has been designated a Four Star School by Indiana Department of Education for four of the past seven years, including last year.
To receive Four Star designation, a school must receive an “A” on the state’s A-F accountability system and have excellent ISTEP pass rates.
“I got my start 20 years ago with (current school board member and former South Elementary principal Bill Hutton), and I want to thank him for giving me that start. That was an exciting time,” Chestnut said.
Along with working with Joyce, she was an assistant to John Lord, who also is retiring after 41 years in the school system, at Maple Ridge Elementary, where the two helped open the new school.
“I appreciate all three of those men,” Chestnut said of the principals she worked for. “They all taught me lots of things.
“They’re all gone now,” she said with a laugh. “I guess I’m on my own.”
Along with Chestnut taking over the duties as the new principal, the board accepted the recommendation of Tony Candiano to be the next assistant principal at Pendleton Heights Middle School.
Candiano has had a number of positions in the school system, including assistant principal at Pendleton Elementary School-Primary since 2014.
In 1998, Candiano started as a social studies teacher at Pendleton Heights High School; he has also been the director of the Carnegie Learning Center, chairman of Driver’s Education and coach of various athletic teams. He is a volunteer assistant for the Pendleton Heights football program.
The board opened Thursday’s meeting by recognizing the corporation’s retirees.
The corporation has 14 employees retiring this year with a combined total of 388½ years of service to South Madison Community School Corp., Buck said.
“Their years of dedication range from 11 years to 41 years,” he said. “Everyone being honored tonight did their job and did their job well. They all had a common goal in doing what’s best for students.”
“You truly have made a difference.”
The 2019 Retirees:
• Mary Ann Bolinger, Pendleton Heights High School, 39 years
• Marcia Farr, East Elementary School, 37 years
• Cathy Jones, Pendleton Heights High School, 35 years
• Daniel Joyce, Pendleton Heights Middle School, 39 years
• John Lord, Maple Ridge Elementary School, 41 years
• Lynn Mellinger, Administrative Service Center, 30 years
• Janet Miller, Pendleton Heights High School, 23 years
• Sue Scheckelhoff, Pendleton Elementary School-Intermediate, 21 years
• Nellie Seal, Administrative Service Center, 37 years
• Sarah Smith, Pendleton Heights High School, 25 years
• Angie Sweet, Pendleton Heights Middle School, 10 years
• Cathy Tudor, Pendleton Heights High School, 29 ½ years
• Bobbie Valentine, Administrative Service Center, 11 years
• Doug Valentine, Administrative Service Center, 11 years