Ballard to be inducted into Educator Hall of Fame
Darrell Ballard combined his passion for history with his ability to connect to his students into a long and successful career in Bartlesville as a social studies teacher and school counselor.
Because of his talent and skills, he is one of four retired educators who will be inducted into the Bartlesville Educator Hall of Fame April 27 at the Bartlesville Community Center.
Born in Chelsea, Oklahoma in 1940, Ballard developed his lifelong love of history at a young age. He remembers reading his older sister’s high school history books when he was just a child, fascinated by the stories. He attended elementary school in Winganon Elementary School, where first through third-grade classes were taught together. He laughed as he proclaimed that he was named valedictorian of his four-person eighth-grade class.
While attending Chelsea High School, he played football, baseball, and basketball — sports he had been playing since the first grade. At that point, he was confident he wanted to teach history and coach athletics.
After graduation, he attended Northeastern State University in Tahlequah to earn his bachelor's degree in education. He majored in social studies and minored in physical education. Ballard met his wife, Mary, in college.
He was a busboy in the cafeteria and the couple tells the story together that all it took was Ballard simply saying hello to her and calling Mary by name — the rest is history. The couple will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in May. Mary, also a teacher, was inducted into the Educator Hall of Fame in 2012.
Ballard’s first job after college was in the small town of Alluwe, Oklahoma. He taught physical education and American History and coached basketball, baseball, and softball — just as he had always dreamed of doing. After a few years, he and Mary moved to Bartlesville and Ballard shifted his focus from coaching to teaching, starting his local teaching career in 1965 by filling an immediate need for a social studies teacher at College High.
During his twelve years there, Ballard taught Social Studies, World History, Contemporary History (which was one of his favorites), Geography, and Sociology. He was named the head of the social studies department in 1970. As a classroom teacher, he realized that he loved developing relationships with his students and making an impact on their lives. He wanted to focus on that broader impact and began pursuing his counseling certification at Oklahoma State University during the summers.
In 1977, he transitioned to the role of counselor at Col-High, working with students on their academic issues and pursuing their post-graduation goals. He transferred to Madison Middle School for about four years before returning to Bartlesville High School, where he retired, temporarily, in 1997.
Earl Sears, principal at Central Middle School at the time, called Ballard out of retirement to serve as the counselor at Central. Shortly thereafter, he made a second attempt at retiring and was called back again — this time to fill a need at Bartlesville High School. He finally retired permanently in 1999 after serving 35 years in the Bartlesville Public School District.
When reflecting on his time in the classroom, Ballard loved sharing his passion for history and building relationships with his students. He encouraged small group discussions and valued his students’ points of view.
His son, Steven, when describing his dad often said, “He’s better than a textbook.” Ballard connected with his students by paying attention to them, recognizing the ones that struggled at home, and giving them space to open up. That connection with his students made it so much more challenging when, despite his best efforts, he was not able to reach them. Ballard recognized with great emotion and regret that, “you could only do so much for the kids who had rough home lives.”
In retirement, the couple traveled, still pursuing Ballard’s love of history. He also developed a love of gardening. One year he won a lawnmower for having the “Best Yard in Bartlesville.”
The Bartlesville Public Schools Foundation has been investing in students and staff members within the district since 1985. Over the decades, the nonprofit organization has funded more than $3 million in creative projects outside of the traditional state, local and federal sources to support state-of-the-art instruction. The money generated by the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies on April 27, 2023, will support the organization’s programs. A $1,000 grant in Ballard’s name will go to the Bartlesville High School Counseling Department to fund college visits for students who are the first in their families to go college.
This event is open to the public and tickets are available for $35 through the BPS Foundation’s website: https://bpsfoundation.org/educator-hall-of-fame/.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Ballard to be inducted into Educator Hall of Fame
