Teaching retires after 42 years in one community

"Preparation and Planning for the Goal" seem to be the 'go-to' attitude of the culture of the late 20th and early 21st centuries in America.

However, for Jeannine Schendt of Lawrence, the plan didn't work out exactly as that preparation and planning wasn't exactly fulfilled after 42 years of teaching in the community of Lawrence and in the Lawrence-Nelson school district.

Friends gathered last weekend to throw a 'surprise' retirement party for Mrs. Schendt. They knew their plan worked when Jeannine walked into the room with everyone yelling "surprise" and Jeannine turned to look around to see to who was the person the "surprise" was intended for.

A little bit of information on the 'planning,' however. While preparing for a career in teaching, she geared her 'methods projects' toward second grade level which was the grade she though she most wanted to teach.

After 42 years, she has taught every elementary grade, except . . . second grade.

The McCook, Nebraska, native earned her degree at Kearney State College in 1978, taught in McCook schools in 1979, married Steve Schendt in 1979 and began teaching at Sacred Heart School in Lawrence in 1979.

Over the following 42 years, she instructed students in every elementary grade (except grade two). Her work as a school teacher was halted a couple of times. First time was with the adoption of her son, Jared, during the 1996-97 school year. Then again with the untimely illness and death of her husband, Steve.

After the close of Sacred Heart School in 2015, she worked at several jobs in the community until her final years in 2019-2022.

One part of her teaching career she truly enjoyed were the annual Christmas programs. It all started with her family putting on Christmas programs for her parents. That led to her progressing this role while attending a one-room country school where the Christmas program was the highlight of the year.

Her work at Sacred Heart began while Rev. Peter Gadient was pastor. Rev. Gadient became well known for writing many Christmas programs and he asked Jeannine to write a play to go within his play for the Christmas program he wrote for that year.

Asked about memories from those years, she noted they were too numerous to mention. She mentioned she and Connie Porter both started teaching careers at Sacred Heart School at the same time and are both ending school teaching at the same time and school.

She noted: "You can't get better than the communities of Lawrence and Nelson. I never felt like I went to a job. It was more of a vocation. Often when the secretary brought me my paycheck, I'd think, "Oh, I forgot I'm getting paid to do this." The best perk of working at Sacred Heart was getting to go to daily Mass and receive Jesus in the Eucharist and I was getting paid to do it."