Janice Burger Schoellman
Class of 1965
2018 Hall of Fame
BIOGRAPHY OF JANICE BURGER SCHOELLMAN
It has been said (probably by her parents) that the sun shone extra brightly on July 21, 1947 in Mariemont, Ohio when Janice entered the world, first child of Dick & Betty Burger. At the age of two, the family moved from Newtonsville to Pleasant Plain where Dick opened up a barber shop and drove a school bus for Goshen and Betty was Postmaster. At age 7, her sister Debbie was born, completing the small family. Janice & Debbie always attended Goshen, although for the first 1˝ years, Janice attended a 4 grade
-single teacher-one room school house in Pleasant Plain which was part of the Goshen Local School District. During her second grade year, the front of Marr Primary was built and the Goshen portion of the Pleasant Plain School was closed. Both her dad and his older sister, Norma, had attended both the Pleasant Plain School and the one which stood on the corner of SR 28 and Goshen Road (later named the Green Elementary.) Norma graduated from Goshen in 1939 while Dick dropped out in the 11th grade to join the Navy and fight in World War II. While neither of Janice’s children attended the school in Pleasant Plain, two of her grandchildren did attend there when it was converted into a preschool, thus three out of four generations all attended school in the same building.While at Goshen as a student, Janice was active in the Drill Team, Basketball, Editor of both the Smoke Signals (school newspaper) and the Goshenensis (yearbook), the Drama Club, National Honor Society, student office worker, Say It With Music program, Choir, and the Future Teachers of America. She felt that she had many wonderful teachers all the way through school, inspiring her to become a teacher, but Mr. Spaulding from her Jr. High years, and Mr. Disque, Miss Cook, and Mr. Schanz from high school probably had the greatest impact in her formative years. Mr. Croley was her mentor in the FTA program, and her teaching style was patterned somewhat after his.
In addition to school activities, she took tap dance lessons and competed in many talent shows, was active in Girl Scouts, 4-H, Church Youth Group, and was an avid reader.
In 1965, Janice graduated from GHS and was awarded Admission with Distinction to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She graduated from there in fall of 1968, just three years later, with a Bachelor of Science in Education. After raising a family, she went back to school and earned a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Supervision from Wright State in 1989.
She applied for, and was accepted, as a teacher in her home school. During her 30 year career at Goshen, she taught various subjects and grades from 5th through 12th. Her major focus was in Language Arts and Social Studies. She helped create, and then serve as advisor to the National Junior Honor Society, as well as serving as Chair of the Middle School Social Studies Dept. On another professional level, she was extremely active in the Goshen Education Association (GEA), serving as building representative, secretary, negotiations chair, vice president and as president for two terms. She also held various positions of leadership at the district (SWOEA), state (OEA), and national (NEA) level. Around 1992, she began spending part of her summer vacations at the county fair, working in the fair office.
In the 42 years spent at Goshen both as a student and a teacher, the district went through a tremendous growth spurt. As a student, the front of Marr and its two additional wings plus a high school (which is now the current middle school) were added, while both Cook and Spaulding were added during her tenure as a teacher. Teaching became quite a challenge when there was no heat, no cafeteria, and no desks. Her first year of teaching began in the gymnasium of what eventually was named the Green Elementary. Four classrooms were set up with rows of boxes separating each classroom because Cook was still under construction when school began and there was no room anywhere else
. A few years later, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade teachers and students moved into Spaulding before it was 100% ready. Several years after that, Spaulding went through a remodel (building real walls between the classrooms) while everyone tried to carry on as normal while the construction was taking place.On a personal level, in 1967, she married her high school sweetheart (from Little Miami), Carl Schoellman. They just celebrated their 50th anniversary last November. They live on a small farm just outside of Newtonsville. Together they raised two talented children, Rich and Cindy (both CNE & Morehead, Ky
. grads) who in turn, have blessed them with wonderful spouses and four marvelous grandchildren. Cindy’s two boys are both currently Goshen students and expect to graduate in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Rich lives in Northern Kentucky and his two children (boy and girl) attend Highlands High School.After retirement in 1998, life has been extremely busy and rewarding.
- First, her position at the fairgrounds was upgraded to Executive Secretary/Office Manager and she now plays a critical role in helping to put together the fair book and the fair itself, under the direction of the Fair Board. In 2007, The Board honored her with ‘a Friends of the Fair ‘Award.
- Fair related, she has served as secretary of both the Livestock Sale Committee and Friends of the Fair, a non-profit organization that so far, has raised money to help fund a new horse barn and a livestock complex
When asked if there is a personal creed, philosophy or motto that she lives by, the 4-H motto came to mind. She has always tried to "Make the Best Better."