World Teacher's Day: Recognizing Indy educators

Washington Township's first high school opened in 1956. That fall North Central High School welcomed students in ninth, 10th and 11th grades. Bill Bugher, an assistant principal at the time, still remembers students from the first four-year graduating class.

A group from the class of 1960 still meet for breakfast once a month. When Bugher ran into one of his former students, who is now 70, the meeting brought back memories of Bugher's days in the school system.

Retired teachers and administrators say they have fond recollections this time of year. Back to school but before winter break is grind time in the classroom. In recognition of World Teacher’s Day, The Star asked retired teachers and school administrators to share warm memories and offer good advice for new teachers.

Who: Bill Bugher.

Age: 86.

Residence: Carmel.

Years in education: 38.

Schools: North Central High School in Indianapolis.

Position: Assistant principal.

Fondest memory: Working with the student council.

Bugher supervised student groups, oversaw the student council and dealt with disciplinary actions. He retired in 1994. He never went to teach at another school.

“Where am I going to find a better place to work than where I am,” he said.

He liked what he was doing, but the experience wasn’t without difficult times. During the Vietnam War, Bugher said, students held a cafeteria sit-in, telling administrators, “We could close this school down if we wanted to.”

He said he remembers many students. Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Bugher said, stuck out in the crowd.

“He pretty much knew what was the right thing to do and when to do it,” Bugher said. “I felt like I wanted to stay out of his way so he could develop the idea or whatever it is we were going to do.”

Who: Debbie Gangstad.

Age: 62.

Residence: Carmel.

Years in education: 28.

Schools: Woodbrook, College Wood and West Clay elementary schools in Carmel.

Positions: First-grade, second-grade and fifth-grade teacher.

Fondest memory: Building partnerships with parents for the benefit of the student.

Gangstad was known as the “old-school” teacher who got to know her students on a personal level. She said she was the kind of teacher who could tell whether a student was having a bad day and “take the script and throw it out the window.”

“You’ve got to deal on a personal level with students,” she said.

Gangstad said one of the most gratifying experiences from her teaching career was seeing students who struggled initially but improved by the end of the year.

“It really doesn’t matter where people start but that they hang in there and work hard,” she said.

Her advice to new teachers: work together. Gangstad said teacher evaluations nowadays can make teachers feel like they are competing against one another, but in her experience the best solutions came from working together and sharing ideas.

Who: Charles Leonard.

Age: 76.

Residency: Noblesville.

Years in Education: 37.

Schools: Hamilton Southeastern School District, Lawrence Township.

Position: Superintendent.

Fondest memory: His first day at Hamilton Southeastern and graduation ceremonies.

Of all the negative things Leonard has heard about the teaching profession, he said the job is well worth the trouble.

“It’s worth the hard work,” he said, “because of the possibilities for making a difference for kids.”

Leonard joined Hamilton Southeastern when many families were moving to the Fishers area. He said parents were enthusiastic about their children’s education and the district was able to pay teachers a decent salary.

His advice to new teachers: be present and patient.

“The days are long, but the years are short,” he said. “Some days you think the day may never end, and then it’s the last time you’re doing it.”

Who: Barbara Story.

Age: 88.

Residence: Carmel.

Years in education: 23.

Schools: College Wood Elementary in Carmel.

Position: Fifth-grade teacher.

Fondest memory: Watching students feel successful and excited to learn something new.

College Wood Elementary School opened in 1966, and Story was one of its first fifth-grade teachers. Blackboards covered the walls of her classroom. She said students loved to go up to the boards to solve problems.

If they struggled, she made sure to tell them it’s just a part of the learning process.

“I’d congratulate them and say, ‘I’m so glad you missed that because I couldn’t teach you anything if you hadn’t missed that,’” she said.

Story said she was lucky to have an administration and fellow teachers who were supportive and helpful. She tried different activities, such as a timetable mural of U.S. history across the blackboards and a newspaper day, lessons based on what was found in the newspaper.

Story said schools and the system have changed so much over the years. The only constant, she said, has been to stay patient and try to understand students. She said the payoff is tremendous.

“My favorite thing was to see a child when they finally caught on to something and learned something,” she said. “It made you feel so good and so excited.”

Call Star reporter Olivia Lewis at (317) 444-6126. Follow her on Twitter: @TheWrittenPeace. 

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