BRATTLEBORO — On her recent visit to The Grammar School in Putney, a mother walked into the preschool classroom and found the children gathered around a table helping Lead Teacher Ken Brautigam perform a science experiment with baking soda, a bottle, and a rubber glove.
The students were in various outfits, some of them having migrated over from the dress-up corner, and they were all intent on what he was doing.
“The atmosphere was appropriately relaxed, which allowed the students to ask questions, and Ken was happy to repeat the experiment over and over so that students could see the glove inflate many times over,” said Apple Gifford, mother of one of the preschoolers.
“He fielded their questions with patience, and did not demand their attention, but rather earned it with his steady, calm approach to the activity.”
Such a scene helps to describe why Ken Brautigam has been named Windham Child Care Association's Early Childhood Educator of the Year. He was recognized at the River Valley Kids Fair on Sept. 21 on the Brattleboro Common.
Brautigam has been teaching at The Grammar School for nearly two decades. He began working with children when he was quite young himself. One of his first jobs was working at his local parks and recreation department as a coach's helper for little league teams.
In high school, after his family moved from Wisconsin to Kentucky, he worked at the local 4-H program.
With both parents as teachers, education was all around him growing up. His father taught at the university while his mother started a preschool program and went on to train other preschool teachers. Two of Brautigam's three siblings are educators as well.
After getting his degree and certification to teach high school, Brautigam began his job search in Putney just as The Grammar School was starting up a preschool program. Nancy Calicchio was the director at the time.
“Nancy had a vision of what the preschool could look like,” Brautigam remembers. “I was a newcomer, and she provided me with all the right direction, encouragement, and support to go out and get the training I needed.”
The creation of the program borrowed heavily from Waldorf, Reggio Emilia and Responsive Classroom approaches to education. Over the years, with support from colleagues and parents, and inspired by the children themselves, Brautigam worked to fine-tune the program.
“We make a lot of room for play,” he said. “Children learn deeply and thoroughly when they're having fun."
Brautigam makes a strong commitment to partner with parents at the school. Melanie Kent, a parent in the program, appreciates this connection.
Kent noted the ample interaction among Brautigam and parents through regular conferences, his blog, and narrative reports about how his charges are progressing.
“I appreciate that drop-off is a fluid time where parents can be in the classroom easing the transition to the school day. He makes himself very available for parents should they need to check in about anything at any time,” Kent says.
Over the years, Brautigam has learned as much from the parents in his program as they have from him.
“Working so closely with different families has taught me a variety of strategies required for working with different learning styles,” he says.
Brautigam has served on the Putney Library Board and is assistant chair of the Windham Child Care Association Board of Directors, where he's been involved for six years. He's played a pivotal role in planning their annual Fall Into Art benefit, which has grown each year.
WCCA Executive Director Elizabeth Raposa describes him as thoughtful and insightful and solidly supportive of those working on behalf of young children.
WCCA Board Chair Jim Maland agrees:
“Ken's expertise as an educator has been invaluable towards many WCCA decisions. Known for his wonderful sense of humor, he is a great listener; he takes on tasks with passion and understanding; and he continually works hard to build a growing community of supporters of high-quality child care.”
This year's other nominees were Heather Bertram, formerly of Sunny Lane Daycare & Preschool; Kay Curtis, Happy Hands; Carrie Dix, The Dover School Pre-K Program; Bob Hancock, Canal Street Head Start; and Melissa Mroz-Gaskill, Hilltop Montessori School.