Kevin Barnum

Kevin Barnum upon becoming a father, awakened in himself a deep interest to educate and spend time with children.  The lessons learned from caring for his first born child soon led Kevin to pursue working with children more intimately.  He started a program with his wife, Kayla, called Quail Trotters, which sought to connect young children and their parents to nature in meaningful ways.  It was during this experience that an acquaintance suggested to Kevin that he consider a career teaching in the classroom, which sparked Kevin’s interest in formal education.

Kevin knew he wanted to teach in a setting that honored and encouraged an appreciation for nature, and set out in search for an educational model that he found truly thoughtful and considerate of children’s needs.  Only having heard briefly about Waldorf education in the past, Kevin became curious decided to travel to Fair Oaks and attend an open house event at Rudolf Steiner College, where he participated in a lecture where students were discussing freedom and what it meant to be truly free.  Impressed to see an educational philosophy that first trained and encouraged teachers to think about the nature of freedom as a foundational course of study, Kevin decided to enroll in a Waldorf teacher training program that Fall.  He has been very devoted to Waldorf education ever since, and is currently continuing his education at Rudolf Steiner college.

To supplement his Waldorf teaching certificate, Kevin also earned his California teaching credential from National University.  During his time at National, Kevin was able to student teach both at Yuba River Charter School as well as at another public school in the area.  Kevin is committed to providing free access to Waldorf education for the public, and is very much looking forward to embarking upon a new career at YRCS.

As Kevin enters his first year of teaching, he brings his natural love of story telling, an affinity for movement and game play, a creative sense of artistry, and a high regard for parent-teacher and student-teacher relationships to his classroom.  Kevin loves to do yoga, spend time with his wife and two young children, hike, and tend to the garden.