BRATTLEBORO — Melanie Zinn, owner of HoriZinn Early Learning Program in Vernon, is this year's recipient of the Windham Child Care Association's Early Childhood Educator of the Year Award.
Zinn received her award at the River Valley Kids Fair on Sept. 19 on the Brattleboro Common.
“I was inspired by my mother,” Zinn answers when asked how she got into the early childhood field. “When I was born, she started a child care program in our home and has continued for 34 years.”
One of Zinn's first jobs was at the Family Garden, where she started its summer camp program. She studied accounting and obtained her Associate's degree from Becker College in Massachusetts and continued her education at Keene State College, earning a B.S. in Education and a B.A. in Theater/Dance.
Zinn became the pre-k teacher at Hinsdale Elementary School while furthering her education at New England College, obtaining a Masters in Early Childhood Education in 2011. When she was laid off, she subsequently applied for jobs in Vermont and Massachusetts. She quickly learned how competitive the field, was with over 100 applicants for each position.
This difficult job search inspired her to examine how she wanted to use her skills and passion for working with children.
“I said to myself, if I don't have a public school job by June, I would open a program in my home. I put it out there, and within a week I was full,” she said. By August 2012, HoriZinn Early Learning Program opened its doors.
The program has been growing ever since. As she heads into her third year of operation, Zinn is transitioning from a registered program to a licensed program, which means she can increase her capacity to 12 children.
All the details around this transition fell into place for her. She didn't have to look far for a co-teacher. Corinne Ginsberg, who she worked with in Hinsdale, N.H., contacted her to see if she had an opening for her son. Immediately, her son enrolled and Ginsberg was hired.
Her home also needed some upgrades. She received an $11,000 loan from the Vermont Community Loan Fund and a $9,000 Building Bright Spaces Grant, which together is funding an updated septic system, a larger driveway and converting what is now a bedroom into a preschool room.
As her program has flourished, Zinn has become a leader in the local early education scene. She is the secretary of the Brattleboro Area Early Childhood Educators' Network and has co-chaired the annual Early Educator Recognition Dinner for the last two years. She's taught workshops at local early education conferences and has worked for Vermont Educators United.
Through her Vermont Educators United connection, she now works directly for the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), writing blog posts and traveling on weekends to meet with other pre-k and kindergarten teachers around the country to develop curriculum.
Last year, Zinn did a radio interview with the president of the Vermont Chapter of the AFT. She shared her experiences in the field and discussed the financial challenges of running a home-based early education program, in particular with the burden of student loan debt. A few months later, she received a call inviting her to join President Obama during the signing of an executive order to cap student loan debt.
Zinn also has her teaching license which allows her to partner with local school districts to offer 10 hours of publicly funded pre-k without having to hire a visiting teacher. Because she has a regular substitute two days a weeks, she is also able to serve as the supervising teacher to neighbor and fellow early educator Martha Missale so she, too, can partner with the district.
When asked what's in store for her future, Zinn said she sees many great things ahead. She's committed to running the program for the next three years (a requirement of the grant). At that point, her son will be ready for kindergarten and her daughter will be graduating 6th grade. “I would love to continue working directly with other early educators and support them in understanding the value of their work,” she said.
She plans to further her schooling by pursuing a special education endorsement to her teaching license. “I want to do more specialized things. I know there is no such thing as perfect, but I strive to be the best I can be for people whose lives I affect, including my family, the children I serve, and the families of those children as well.”
About being recognized with this award, Zinn said she feels humbled. “I don't do what I do to be recognized. I do it because it feels like the right thing to do. It does feel good to be noticed for all the hard work I have put in, especially when that wasn't my end. This award makes me self-reflect and look at what I can do to improve. It makes me think, what can I do even better?”