Bartholomew county retired teachers association
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        Welcome!

All the members of the Bartholomew County Retired Teachers Association (BARTA) welcome you to our website. It is our hope that you will use this site to learn more about BARTA, the Indiana Retired Teachers Association, and the teachers of Indiana.

click here to learn more about BARTA

Get up to Date Barta news and information on facebook

Find out current information about BARTA and BARTA members by going to Facebook and typing in Bartholomew County Retired Teachers. Make sure to Friend the page!

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BARTA Meeting Dates for

​2022 -2023 Have Been Released
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BARTA general meetings will be held at Sandy Hook on these dates:
September 13, 2022
November 15, 2022
March 7, 2023
​May 9, 2023

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Registration 10:45 to 11:15
                   Luncheon 11:30
A program and business meeting follow the delicious lunch.
 
Four Seasons-May 9, 2023 (Only tentative at this time)



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BARTA Spring 2022 General Meeting
Plans are in the works to have our annual spring meeting, in person, at Four Seasons Retirement Center. The date is May 10th.
11:00 Registration (wear a mask)
11:30  Welcome of membership
           Program:  Banister Family Bluegrass Band
12:15  General Meeting
12:30  Lunch - Cost Per member is $8.00
We have been in contact with Four Seasons, and they said we are welcome to have our meeting there as long as there are no further outbreaks of Covid or variants.
We will give you further information about the meeting as we get closer to the date. You can also check Facebook at @bartholomewretiredteachers  or our website at www.barta2.org to get information about the upcoming meeting.

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​CHRISTMAS 2021! GIVE A GIFT OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES
TO THE AFGAN CHILDREN AT CAMP ATTERBURY.


Partnering with Beloved for School Supplies for Afghan children at Camp Atterbury 2021, BARTA is collecting school supplies for Afghan children who will starting school in the next few weeks. We are partnering with Beloved who takes supplies and makes them available to children who move into foster homes and school supplies for Afghan children. Supplies include general school material such as pencils, paper, folders, glue sticks, headphones and other school related supplies. Students will be going to local schools as well as surrounding areas.

For more information, visit: 
Beloved @ www.belovedbags.org

Items may be dropped at Janice Montgomery's Home-2129 Dale Court, Columbus 47203.


You may also make a financial donation that will be used for the project.

Send donations to: 
                                             BARTA
                                             C/O Janet Smith
                                             3711 Premier Dr.,
                                             Columbus IN 47203





​BARTA is collecting Volunteer Hours


​​Each year BARTA collects volunteer hours for the calendar year. We know that Covid has reduced the opportunities to volunteer. But every hour you volunteer makes a difference. We use the information you provide to show the importance of retired teachers to the community. We share the data with state legislators and publish our totals in The Republic as well.

Please help BARTA by giving us your youth volunteer hours and community volunteer hours. Thank you very much for helping BARTA. Please email your hours to Bbarta52@yahoo.com




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Tentative BARTA Meeting Dates and Information for 2021-2022

We are sad to announce the November BARTA general meeting has been cancelled because of the spike in the Corona Virus. No November meeting.

The BARTA Executive Board met on Tuesday, April 6th to discuss plans for a potential BARTA general meeting in May. It was decided to cancel the May meeting because, at this time, we could not guarantee that Four Seasons will accommodate us. Plus, most officers felt it still would be difficult to social distance members and keep everybody safe.

Election of officers is supposed to occur at the May meeting. Since we are not meeting, the Board agreed to have the officer election at the September meeting, but that meeting  and November's meeting have been cancelled. A slate of officers have agreed to serve. The interim officers, refer to the BARTA page, will be presented to the membership at our next general meeting. Once approved, the officers will assume their duties immediately at that general meeting. 



​                                            BARTA MEETING DATES
                                                      FOR 2021-2022

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Meeting places and dates are tentative until conformed by the BARTA Exec. Board

September       14th           Cancelled because of COVID

November 9th                       Cancelled because of COVID

March 8th                             Cancelled because of COVID

May 10th                               Four Seasons          

Registration 10:45 to 11:15
                   Luncheon 11:30
A program and business meeting follow the delicious lunch.

Bartholomew County Teachers

​ Association Makes a Difference


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                         BARTA Dictionary Project

​For seventeen years BARTA has participated in the annual dictionary project that presents dictionaries to every third grader in Bartholomew Consolidated and Flat Rock School Corporations. During previous years, BARTA members have gone out to visit all third grade classrooms to distribute the dictionaries. We have also discussed with the students  basic dictionary skills, and showed how they can be used as classroom resource.

This year, because of COVID, we have developed a virtual presentation on YOUTUBE featuring Janet Baldwin who reviews many of those valuable dictionary skills. The link to her presentation is https://youtu.be/TjOle1e666A

                     Pennies from Heaven​ 2020 and 2021

It certainly was a challenge for everyone this past year. Because of COVID, BARTA did not meet during the 2020-2021 meeting year. However, because of the generous contributions from BARTA  membership dues, we were able to give assistance to three Bartholomew county groups. These three groups are:
  • Access-Ability organization which provides durable medical equipment when it is no longer needed and provides free medical equipment to those who need it. 
  • Love Chapel for food assistance to Bartholomew County residents
  • Simmons School to assist their efforts in developing a memory garden in honor of Glen Keller and Barb Johnson, long-time Flat Rock educators.

                                2020 Pennies from Heaven Donations
During each BARTA meeting, a donation, Pennies from Heaven, is taken from our retired teachers to give to Bartholomew County organizations that serve youth. This year, 2020,  BARTA contributed $200 to BCSC Food Service, Flat Rock Hawcreek Food Service and United Way of Bartholomew County. We hope our three $200 donations will help with their efforts to benefit local children and adults in their everyday lives to put food on their tables and help replenish nutritional needs.  As former teachers, we appreciate all they are doing to help children survive and succeed in the world in which they live
 
 
                          BCSC Backpack Program

Bartholomew County Retired Teachers Executive Board answered a call to help with school supplies for this coming year. Backpacks are prepared with essential supplies to help students start the year on a positive note. The Executive Bd agreed to use $300 from our treasury to help with the student supply effort. On top of that decision, the Executive Board took the challenge to match the $300 with individual contributions from Board members. That challenge resulted in a total of $650 being sent to BCSC to help with school supplies during this difficult time.




​VOLUNTEERING...IT'S IN THE BLOOD OF BARTA.

   Even though we as a community and us as individuals suffered through a pandemic, BARTA members worked to serve the community and youth during 2020. BARTA members are dedicated to our community and its schools, our BARTA members donated more than 14,000 hours to our community in 2020. We donated 4,271 hours serving youth and 10,426 hours serving the general public, for a total of 14,697 hours of service.
     BARTA members donated over $399,000 worth of volunteer time to our community last year, according to an Independent Sector which is a coalition that publishes research for nonprofits. They set the 2020 value of each volunteer hour at $27.20.



​2020 Volunteer Hours

The following BARTA members volunteered 300 or more hours during the 2020  calendar year. Congratulations for your tireless service to children and the community!

Mailyn lBrackney
 Shirley Lyster
 Donna Browne
Louise Hillery
Janice Montgomery
 Cheryl Zuckschwerdt-Ellsbury
 Hedy George
 Georgianna Waldrop
Susan Gobert
Sally Scrogham
Natalie Lavengood



we ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE OUR 2020 barta VOLIUNTEER OF THE YEAR IS JANICE MONTGOMERY

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​Janice Montgomery is one of the most dedicated people we have ever known. She is energized by her total dedication to the youth and community of Columbus, Indiana and Bartholomew County. Janice might be retired as a life-long educator, but she does not fit the mold of putting up her feet and watching life pass by.
 
Janice Montgomery came to Columbus in 1978 with her husband, Lynn, a Columbus native. After K-12 subbing while the girls were small, Janice started working full time in BCSC at Southside.  She spent most of her career there as an AC/HA teacher and assistant to the principal.  Later, she moved to the Center for Teaching and Learning to develop professional development with area educators, enjoyed teaching at IUPUC and Ivy Tech, and later accepted an opening at the Bartholomew Consolidated School Foundation as the executive director.  Finally, she retired to participate in many community projects and work at the Simmons Schoolhouse, while still visiting her daughters and their families out of state.
 
Volunteer efforts are the major focus of any extra time.  The most incredible experiences include the Dictionary Project (17 years), BCSF Third Grade Architectural Tours, BCSC School Referendum Spring 2020, DKG, Columbus Philharmonic Volunteer and Garden City Church of Christ committees. 
 
Each year a major project comes out of the blue.  This year the BCSC Referendum-Yes! 4 BCSC began in January 2020.  Janice co-chaired with Mandy Keele, Southside teacher and CEC Vice-Chair and with Chad Phillips on daily activities.  This effort was a success in the June election.  Over that time, thousands of contacts were made by hundreds of volunteers.  The pandemic changed the strategies to phone calls and mailings.  Thankfully, the community understood the critical nature of supporting all employees in the schools through the referendum.  The employees will begin receiving the benefits of the referendum in January.  During this time, Janice enjoyed renewing many old friendships and meeting so many energetic and dedicated BCSC employees and families.  This people understood that education is the foundation to a great community and its future.
 
Volunteering is a critical component for Janice’s life.  While she still takes K-12 sub jobs as often as possible, volunteering in the community, sending cards, and asking others to donate their time too is always on the list of TO-DO’s.  There is NO REASON to be bored, even during a pandemic.  People need encouragement.  Our educators and support personnel need encouragement.  Janice would say---Find a way to make other people’s lives better.
 

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Shirley Lyster is our 2019 Outstanding Volunteer of the Year!

​We are pleased to announce that Shirley Lyster is the 2019 Bartholomew County Retired Teacher of the Year. Shirley taught 52 years at Columbus and Columbus North High Schools. In addition, Shirley was Department Chairperson for 33 of those years. Miss Lyster retired in 2004, but she continues to use her amazing talents to teach others even today. She has led students at the post-secondary level after her retirement by teaching at Ivy Tech, IUPUI and Mill Race Center where she has offered many classes called Partners in Education. Her volunteer hours are spent preparing for the classes that she teaches. She spends hours reading, researching, studying and preparing for the classes that she teaches. She knew that if she expected her students, both high school and adult, to appreciate literature that she would need to be prepared to give them questions and discussion topics that they would have to address.

Miss Lyster uses a broad teaching expertise to instruct students through a wide range of media and literary genre. She features outstanding pieces of literature to her class and even compares and contrasts a movie that is related to the literature. She has even taught a study of Spoon River Anthology which features a collection of epitaphs from characters in Spoon River Cemetery. Then she works with her students as they write their own wonderful free verse poems about their relatives and acquaintances.

Since her retirement, Miss Lyster has discussed more than forty books with her students. One of the feature pieces of literature that she notes is The Odyssey of Homer which addresses the seven major themes of literature. She continues to emphasize that she enjoys the personal and professional growth through her experiences with others.

We are proud to present the 2019 BARTA retired educator of the year!
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Protect Yourself from COVID - 19

To register for your Corona Virus vaccine go to
​
https://Vaccine.coronavirus.in.gov


​Protect yourself and others The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. You can take steps to slow the spread.

1. Maintain good social distance (about 6 feet). This is very important in preventing the spread of COVID-19.

2. Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

3. Routinely clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.

4. Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth face covering when around others.

​
​Learn more about what you can do to protect yourself and others.


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The BCSC Referendum passed during the general election held on June 2nd by a margin of 9,356voters approved compared to 5,900 who votes against the referendum. The referendum  will provide approximately $7.8 million dollars in additional revenue for the school corporation.

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​​lEARN MORE ABOUT BARTA.
Click any item
below.

Our Mission
  • Our Leaders​
  • Our Awards
  • Memorial Roll
  • Joining BARTA and IRTA
  • Your Benefits
  • BARTA Teacher Grants
  • Our Volunteers
  • IRTA Scholarships
  • IRTA "A Hand Up" Grants
  • IRTA Active Teacher Grants
  • Legislative Update
  • Your Resources
  • GALLERY of Pictures
  • Contact Us
  • Application for BARTA Teacher Grant
  • ​​BARTA History

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​2019 VOLUNTEER HOURS

The following BARTA members volunteered 400 or more hours during the 2019  calendar year. Congratulations for your tireless service to children and the community!

Cheryl Zuckschwerdt-Ellsbury
Peggy Wampler
Shirley A.Lyster
Joe Nicholson
Fran Simmermaker
Sally Scrogham
Janice Montgomery
Connie Daugherty
Kim Stover
Janet Baldwin
Lynne Fleming
Updated July 2022
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