Chris Gensinger spent his entire career with Warsaw Community Schools and doesn’t regret a day of it.
But after 40 years as a teacher, chief academic officer and principal, he’s retiring at the end of the school year as Eisenhower Elementary School principal.
“I have no regrets about being with Warsaw Community Schools for 40 years. It’s been a great home for me, and I’ve enjoyed the contact with people, my students, parents all the way through. It’s been a great experience. I feel blessed,” he said during an interview recently in his office.
He started as a teacher at Washington Elementary School for six years, all in sixth grade under Dr. Lee Harman.
“He was a tremendous leader. I really tried to model some of the things that I do after him, because I just liked his leadership style. I always have,” Gensinger said.
When he was getting his master’s degree, he tried to look for a position where he could get a little more control of what was happening in school.
“So I entered the supervision of schools program, and I kind of embraced it,” he said.
Just before he had his master’s degree, Gensinger was hired as principal at Jefferson Elementary School, about 1985.
“That was my first administrative experience. I remember feeling really out of place. I was 29 and there were teachers there that had been there for almost as many years as I had been alive, so it was intimidating for me to start there. But I really enjoyed it and met a lot of great people. Super kids, too,” he said.
Being a principal has changed quite a bit since then, he admitted.
“I think the hardest part is, there’s been a lot of changes at the state level that have made administration more difficult. The accountability level is one of the things that has added a lot to our plates. Curriculum has been expanded, so we have to cover more in what seems like a shorter amount of time. It puts a lot of pressure on us,” Gensinger said.
The high-stakes testing adds another component that is difficult to get your arms around, he said.
During his last year as Jefferson’s principal, Gensinger was transitioning to Eisenhower.
“These buildings – the new buildings, now the oldest buildings, Harrison and Eisenhower – they were under construction and we were working on the purchase of all the loose equipment. I was attending the construction meetings while this was being built. Also, staff selection and all that kind of staff occurred that final year I was at Jefferson,” he said.
In 1991-92, he became Eisenhower’s principal where he’s been since except for two years he served as chief academic officer at the Warsaw Community Schools Central Office.
Gensinger said Harrison and Eisenhower were the first two elementaries with full air conditioning, so everyone felt very lucky. “It really was a very nice environment for learning.”
Randy Polston was the principal at Harrison at the time, but has since retired and serves on the Warsaw School Board.
“When I heard that Chris had decided to retire, it was truly a bittersweet announcement. I am so very happy for Chris but very sad to hear about his decision,” Polston said.
He said he and Gensinger go back to the beginning of our careers. Polston was an elementary teacher and coach at McKinley/Lincoln. Gensinger was an elementary teacher and coach at Washington.
“Chris and I got to know each other, and even though there was a little bit of competition, we became great friends,”?he said.
“Over the last 40 years, Chris has always been a child-centered leader. He led his buildings with a passion to inspire and equip all the children that he came in contact with the skills they would need to be successful in their lives. As evident by the hundreds of children that were lucky enough to have known Chris and gone on to follow their dreams, he made a difference,” Polston said.
Gensinger said his decision to retire this year “is just a matter of the number of years I’ve been doing this. I am ready to spend time with my grandkids. They’re at an age that I don’t want to miss a whole lot more, so I want to spend more time with them. I have some leisure things I’d like to do and maybe do some more things part time.”
His retirement isn’t about working, but about spending time and changing some priorities about where he spends his time.
One of his passions is golfing, so he does expect to get some more golfing in.
Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert said, “Warsaw Community Schools has been blessed through the work and service of Chris Gensinger. His career has impacted the lives of thousands of students. His lasting legacy will be immense and transcend multiple generations in our local community. He has been a leader in literacy instructional strategies and classroom integration. On a personal level, I have seen Mr. Gensiger as a role model. His retirement is extremely bittersweet. We are so grateful for the time he has gifted WCS through his career. At the same time, we know his shoes will be extremely hard to fill.”
Whoever replaces him at Eisenhower, Gensginer offered one piece of advice.
“I just think probably the best thing to do is not really change a whole lot right away and just make assessments for the first few months. Kind of assess where there are needs,” he said. “I’m sure that another leader will see things that I don’t see because I’ve been here so long. And maybe somebody can come in and after they take a peek at what’s going on, they can see something that maybe I’ve been blinded by because I’ve been here and didn’t notice something should be fixed.”
In his last remarks, Gensinger said, “This is it. The one thing I want people in this community to know is, of all my 40 years, I’ve worked every day to the best of my ability. I’ve never been on cruise control or not given my best. I’ve given my best every single day. That’s what I feel good about.”
