Arlene Bara to retire as teacher but not as role model

By Anya Tikka
DINGMANs FERRY — Arlene Bara has been teaching Language Arts at the Dingman Delaware Middle School for 31 years. She started as a substitute teacher and never looked back.
Now she’s getting ready to retire. But don’t think she’s going sit at home relaxing. Reading and gardening are among her favorite activities, but she'll be doing much more than that. Having grown up on a horse farm, she trains horses and teaches riding, and will continue to do both in retirement.
Bara was the horseback riding director for the TOP Ranch at the Pine Forest Camps in Greeley for two years. She's also a Multi-Discipline World Horse Competition Qualifier.
During her time at the middle school, she must always have been multi-tasking, judging by her many extra-curricular activities. She spent 14 years as the school’s drama director and 11 years as detention supervisor, and still managed to find time to coordinate the annual Tri-State Spelling Bee in Port Jervis. Her students include six champions, four second-place finishers, and two third-place finishers.
"I always instill dedication and hard work and attitude on students," Bara said. "I always try to motivate them. I tell them they can do it if they want to. You get back what you put into it.”
She believes her purpose in life is to inspire others and be a positive role model. Homework didn’t come into the equation so much.
“They studied on their own,” she said.

A good example

Bara said her experience as drama director also helped her present a good example to her students. She set up a dramatic reading station in her classroom where students could explore their skills and sometimes their own writing too. She enjoyed watching the kids who came to her drama productions as sixth graders blossom with confidence as they tried acting.
And she also fondly remembers other teachers and administrators.
“I enjoy the company of my colleagues," she said. "They help to create a nice atmosphere, and the administrators help to make the job easy. They are very supportive.”
Though Bara won't be slowing down in retirement, she’s looking forward to it.
“My daughter is having a baby in July, and I’ll continue to train horses," she said.
Among her many accomplishments are the inclusion in the 10th and 11th editions of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers recognizing the top 5 percent of the nation’s teachers in 2005 to 2007.
She was also named in the Premiere Edition of National Honor Roll’s Outstanding American Teachers for Exceptional Performance in the Motivation and Empowerment of Today’s Youth in 20016, and in the 2007-08 edition of the Cambridge Who’s Who Registry of Executives, Professionals and Entrepreneurs.
Bara is an honorary member of the Nominating Committee of the National Young Leaders State Conference 2008.