Timnath principal retires

By Dan MacArthur
Fossil Creek Current

Timnath Elementary School Principal Dan Balcerak is ready to retire to something a little less demanding now.

"After 30 years in education, I feel like it's time to slow down," he said. "I'm looking for something where I don't have homework every night."

Balcerak, 52, said he also plans to put a little more wear on his passport, which so far bears only the ink of Canada and Mexico.

Ron Bowen, currently assistant principal and media and technology specialist at Bacon Elementary, will take over the helm at Timanth this fall.

Balcerak said he walks away proud from a special school that he felt was a perfect fit when he became principal there nine years ago.

A 27-year veteran with the Poudre School District, Balcerak said he moved here from Buffalo, N.Y., because he was tired of shoveling snow. Specializing in reading and reading disabilities, Balcerak taught at Cache La Poudre Elementary for eight years. He them taught at schools throughout the district before moving into special education administration.

The elimination of 40 administrative positions in 1993 sent Balcerak back to teaching until he returned to administration at Boltz Junior High School. His determination next brought him to Timnath, a school with 475 students all living east of Interstate 25.

"It took several interviews before I landed here," he said. "I really seemed to resonate well in Timnath. It was like coming home for me."

Balcerak said he appreciates the school's central role in the town of 240. "This has always been a kind of community center," he said. "We're fortunate to have a very nice relationship with the town."

Bowen, 50, also loves that small-town feel not unlike his native Fort Collins when it was still relatively small and close-knit. He, too, said it felt like home when he sat down for the series of selection interviews with the Timnath staff.

A Fort Collins High School and University of Northern Colorado graduate, Bowen taught music in a Hawaiian private school for four years. He moved back here and became band director at Cache La Poudre and Lesher Junior High before becoming a music curriculum specialist.

Following the same administrative purge, Bowen returned to the classroom as band director at Poudre High School, then became an instructor working with teachers and the schools applying technology to education.

But Bowen said he missed working with students and jumped at the chance to take the position at Bacon. When the Timnath position opened, he had that same special feeling as his predecessor.

"It was meant to be," said Bowen.