Calaveras teacher changes view of local elementary school
If the faculty at Calaveras School is like a family, third-grade
teacher Donna Barry is definitely the doting grandma or better yet,
the fun aunt. She’s always ready with a hug when she sees people,
whether the last time she saw them was yesterday or an hour ago.
She makes everything fun, whether it’s reading or fractions. And
unlike mom and dad, she’s not opposed to bending the rules once in
a while.
Calaveras teacher changes view of local elementary school
If the faculty at Calaveras School is like a family, third-grade teacher Donna Barry is definitely the doting grandma or better yet, the fun aunt. She’s always ready with a hug when she sees people, whether the last time she saw them was yesterday or an hour ago. She makes everything fun, whether it’s reading or fractions. And unlike mom and dad, she’s not opposed to bending the rules once in a while.Donna Barry was also one of the first people Principal Christine White thought of when she was asked to nominate one of her teachers for San Benito County Teacher of the Year.
“We call her the cheerleader of Calaveras,” White said. “She just has a way of motivating the staff as well as the students. She’s always smiling and organizing events that make school fun. She just goes in with an idea and gets everyone involved.”
Barry has been at Calaveras for 15 years, but prior to arriving there she taught at Fremont School, then R.O. Hardin, then Sunnyslope, then R.O. Hardin again, before finally arriving at Calaveras.
It was at Calaveras that Barry discovered the something that she had been missing at her other schools – a dynamic group of educators that really gelled together. That is not to say that her previous schools were not the same quality, but there was definitely something special about Calaveras, she said.
“When I was growing up here, there was some stigma surrounding the area where Calaveras is located,” Barry said. “So when I got here I was anxious to show people what an amazing school we have and what wonderful children go here.”
Since her arrival Barry has worked hard to come up with activities that really shine a light on the school and the surrounding area.
“Calaveras had a bad reputation. It was one of the worst schools in the county,” White said. “So Mrs. Barry set out with the goal of getting the school a new reputation. One of the first things she did was organize the school’s participation in the Lights On Parade. She got donations for the school and worked with parents to design costumes. She got everyone excited.”
In addition to the Lights On Parade, Barry has also helped start a hobby fair, in which kids bring their hobbies to school for show and tell and got the school participating in the Jump for Heart and Hoop for Heart fund-raising events.
“With the hobby fair I wanted to encourage kids to do something besides video games,” Barry said. “When they bring in these hobbies, it gives other kids ideas for what they can do as well.”
Barry is also a cheerleader for special education students as well, White said. She looks for every opportunity to mainstream special education students into her classroom environment. So, if her class is having reading time, she invites the special education students in to listen as well. Her class goes on field trips with the special education program and she encourages her students to treat those students as they would any other student.
“I think it’s valuable to the kids to have the [special education students] in that environment. The kids learn compassion in this way,” Barry said. “By including those students the kids don’t think anything of those differences. They play on the playground and there is a sense of inclusion.”
Barry could not do it alone, though. She has a fantastic teaching team including Don Kessling, Donna Rider and Ronna Gilani, she said.
“I enjoy what I do. That’s why I continue to do it,” Barry said. “My husband, Tom, retired nine years ago and he said I can retire any time I want to, but I enjoy the kids too much.”
