Seymour High School teachers Richard Schuley and Debra Schneider recently said goodbye to students for the final time on the last day of classes.
Combined, the two Seymour Community School Corp. teachers have 84 years in education with Schneider completing 41 years and Schuley 43 years.
SHS Principal Greg Prange said Schneider had been a Latin teacher at the school since 1982, and Schuley had been a science teacher there since 1983. Prior to moving to SHS, Schuley taught five years at Eastern High School in Pekin.
Prange said he and Schuley taught across the hall from each other for 12 years before the 1996 renovation.
“We instantly became friends. Just like many first-year teachers, I wasn’t really sure what I was doing, and Rick took me under his wing and helped me grow and develop my teaching skills,” Prange said.
He said many students decided to take Latin and chemistry because of who taught the class.
“Mrs. Schneider and our band of cruising friends have helped my wife and me visit and explore all sorts of new lands in the Caribbean,” he said. “I certainly plan on our annual trips continuing or even becoming more numerous in the future.”
Prange said beyond the classroom, these teachers had a direct influence on students’ lives through club sponsorships, field trips and coaching experiences.
“Maybe most of all, what these two mean to me is they are my friends and we’ve been together in good times and in bad, we’ve helped each other through sicknesses and health,” he said. “Seymour High School will not be the same without Mrs. Schneider and Mr. Schuley, and they will be missed.”
Richard Schuley
Schuley said his original career goal was to be a sports broadcaster.
“Right after I got to college, they were starting to put athletes in the broadcast, and it used to be just the broadcasters, so I thought it would be harder to find a job,” he said. “So I switched over to science, which was my other love, and I really liked it.”
He said he taught seventh through 12th grade in Pekin and taught all of the sciences except for biology, and that was the ticket that helped him come to Seymour.
“I got a call from my adviser at Indiana University Southeast and said he knew of a job where I could teach chemistry all day, so I jumped on that, and I’ve been here ever since,” he said.
He received his master’s degree from IUS and then took classes for another level that is called Master’s Plus 30. For that, he went all over the Midwest to different universities to take a variety of chemistry courses.
One memory that stands out during his time at SHS is when Bill Clinton came to the auxiliary gymnasium to speak, and he said it was pretty amazing to see the security and everything.
“Some of the big wins of some of our athletic teams stand out, too, like when the football team went to state finals and the baseball team won a state championship, and that was good,” he said.
Schuley also was a coach over the years. He coached football, basketball, volleyball and Science Olympiad, and back when Louisville used to have Quiz Bowl, he coached that team because he was on the same program when he attended high school in Jeffersonville.
Retirement hasn’t sunk in for him yet, but when August rolls around, he said he is going to miss his department because they’re his friends.
“It has been a pleasure to work here,” he said. “I loved my time here, and I raised my family here. I’m going to miss it, but I couldn’t have done any of this without my wife, Barb, who is a speech therapist at Jackson Elementary School. We have two children, Ben Schuley and Laura Luna, who have always supported me.”
Ben said his father has poured his heart and soul into his job, as have the other teachers leaving this year.
Colleague Sara Bane said Schuley has been a fixture in the science department for many years.
“He was my chemistry teacher in the 1990s, and another teacher in our department, Matt Dennis, also had Rick as a chemistry teacher,” Bane said. “Mr. Schuley’s students remember him for his antics and jokes, but they will also assure you that they walked away from his classes with lots of science knowledge.”
She said he has a gift for keeping things light and fun while also instilling a sense of curiosity and love for science.
“I admire the level of energy he brings to teaching, and it’s really difficult for me to think about moving into the next school year without him. He will surely be missed by all,” she said.
Dennis said Schuley was his high school chemistry teacher for three years and inspired him to add chemistry as an area of study when he went into education.
“I have lots of fond memories of learning from him, and it was an honor to teach with him for the last 18 years,” Dennis said. “He helped mold me into the educator that I am today and has become one of my closest friends.”
Superintendent Brandon Harpe said students need to know a teacher cares, and he can wholeheartedly say students at SHS knew Schuley did just that.
“I was hired as a teacher at SHS in 1999, and at that time, I had several options where I could have gone to work for different schools in different communities,” Harpe said. “Rick was part of the committee who interviewed me, and he showed me around the school afterward. We instantly developed rapport, and I just genuinely liked him and could tell that he was a great teacher and leader.”
Harper said Schuley is part of the reason he decided to take the job at Seymour and is so thankful he did.
“He has always been an advocate for public education and a voice for our teachers through the Seymour Education Association,” Harpe said. “Beyond all of that stuff, he is just a tremendous person.”
Debra Schneider
Schneider, or Mag (short for magistra, the Latin word for teacher), did her student teaching in Seymour from 1980 to 1981.
The following fall, she started her position at the high school.
“Latin was my major in college, but before I switched was a music major, and for that reason for a while, I’ve done dance team and helped with choir, where I did choreography as well as vocal coaching,” Schneider said. “Then for a while I taught an introduction to education for our cadet teachers.”
In her retirement, she would like to be an online instructor for Latin, and there are several things she is pursuing in that area.
“I’d like to do a little writing, too, and I’ve recently bought a house down in Sun City Center in Florida and will be dividing my time between here and there,” Schneider said.
One historical event she recalls that took place during her time at SHS was when the newest pope was chosen by the College of Cardinals and watching that live with her students.
“We were waiting for them to use the Latin phrases, which they did, and that was kind of exciting,” she said. “I do remember I had one girl who raised her hand very innocently and said, ‘Now that he’s the pope, what will they call his wife?’”
Schneider said 43 years went by pretty quickly, and she has enjoyed all of her time at the school.
“Greg (Prange) always talks about how Seymour High School is a family, and I feel that very deeply,” she said. “So I hope to come back for family reunions whenever I can.”
Jill Prange, director of media services at SHS, has known Schneider for the entire time she has been at the school. She said Schneider is one of the kindest, most caring teachers she has known, and the students love her for that and for her fun classes with innovative lessons packed full of songs, games and travels to faraway countries.
“Debbie is an icon of SHS, offering to her students culture and a desire to learn,” Prange said. “Debbie has always been quick to collaborate with other teachers, and it has been an absolute pleasure to work with her.”
She said Schneider has been a wonderful friend, and she has spent plenty of time with her at the Keurig and on their annual Caribbean cruise.
“I am certain she will find plenty to keep herself occupied during her retirement years, but she will be missed at Seymour High School,” Prange said.
SHS French teacher Melissa Wagner knew Schneider when she was a student at the school. Wagner did not take Latin, but she had friends who did, and they loved her.
“My first year teaching, I did not have a classroom. In the morning, one of my first classes was located in Mag’s room,” she said. “She helped me so much that first year, tips, tricks, ways to stay sane. She has the biggest heart.”
Wagner said she will miss their morning coffee chats before school, where they would laugh, problem solve or create new problems. They have traveled together often, too.
“She models compassion and empathy and has taught her students that the world is much bigger than our small corner of it and that our actions can ripple to great distances,” Wagner said. “While I will miss her dearly in our building, I am so happy for her and cannot wait to hear what new adventures she finds.”