Barrow retires after 42 years in education

Dee Barrow of Holton has retired after a 42-year career in education. Barrow served as the principal of the county’s Fresh Start program for the past 17 years.

Barrow was born in Holton and graduated from Denison High School in 1969. She went on to Highland Junior College and then transferred to Washburn University where she received her undergraduate degrees in education and art in 1974.

“I always knew that I wanted to teach,” Barrow said. “I liked working with kids, and I just knew that’s what I wanted to do.”

During two years in college, Barrow served as a special education paraprofessional for Topeka Public Schools USD 501. After graduation, she was an elementary teacher for the district for six years before teaching junior high art for three years for Seaman USD 345.

She received a master’s degree in educational administration from Washburn University and completed some doctorate work at Kansas State University. She received endorsements to be a K-12 principal and received a superintendent license in 1991.

Barrow served as the athletic director and principal at St. Marys for 10 years, overseeing students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade.

In 1998, she was hired as the principal of the new Fresh Start program, which helps people 18 years and older complete the requirements for their high school diploma.

At that time, South Central Education Service Center was starting high school completion programs throughout the state, and Barrow said she had a friend who worked for the center who encouraged her to pursue the program in Holton. The Fresh Start Learning Center is located at 610 E. Fifth St. in Holton.

“When the program started, we didn’t know how long it would last,” she said. “But we’ve averaged about 25 to 30 people graduating each year for the last 10 years.”

Using an online curriculum, students have been able to complete their high school diplomas in one to four years, depending on when they dropped out of school, Barrow said.

“I liked the cheerleading part of it,” she said. “The students want to be there.”

Barrow said that when the program started, the online curriculum had to be “beefed up” in order to be taught to students.

“Now we have a wonderful curriculum that’s really expanded with electives and all the core curriculum that’s aligned with state standards,” she said. “We were audited twice a year to make sure students were following the state’s standards.”

Barrow also started a high school completion program for inmates at the Jackson County Jail. Barrow said the Fresh Start program here was started to serve three counties but has expanded to serve eight.

“Having that diploma has helped many of them get jobs or receive a promotion,” she said. “A lot of students continued onto college or served in the military.”

Each May a graduation ceremony is held for all graduates.

“It’s a big graduation,” Barrow said. “Just graduating changed some of their lives. There’s a lot of pride in that. It’s been an honor and a privilege to work with all the students. Locally, the superintendents, the boards of education and the staff have really been supportive.”

In her retirement, Barrow said she plans to travel, including a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. She also owns several rentals in the area and has a small cow-calf operation.

Her family includes her son, Jim Myers, Wendy Ewing and two grandsons, Jake Ewing and Drake Ewing.