Eleanor Brannigan Ehlert
A lifelong resident of Branford, Eleanor Brannigan Ehlert graduated from Branford High School in 1930. After completing three years of the curriculum at the State Normal School (now Southern Connecticut State University), she transferred and received a Bachelor of Education degree from New Britain Teachers College (the present Eastern Connecticut State University) in June 1934 with a major in elementary education.
Returning to Branford, Miss Brannigan’s first teaching assignment was a combined first and second grade in Stony Creek. In 1935 she was transferred to the Harrison Avenue School.
Married in 1940 to George Ehlert, Eleanor interrupted her teaching career and in 1942 gave birth to a son. Theirs was a very close marriage, and family was central to Eleanor's life. Her son, George, now lives in Jacksonville, Florida, with his wife, Nancy. Eleanor's two granddaughters both reside in Dallas, Texas.
Returning to the classroom in 1946, Eleanor was assigned to the Harbor Street School where she would face the challenge, among others, of having her son and many of his friends as her second grade pupils. Future teaching assignments were to include the Damascus (Now Mary R. Tisko) and Brushy Plains (now Mary Murphy) Schools. She retired from the latter in 1973.
Former colleagues remember Eleanor as a grandmotherly type with a low-key sense of humor but with a steel spine. She was a teacher who was always able to bring out the best in her students. They recall her outstanding ability in math, in which she specialized during the time when teachers teamed and students switched classes. A teacher who was paired with her recalls a time in the late sixties when sweat bands were popular. Among the students lined up to enter her room for their math period, Eleanor spotted a boy wearing one. Never one to tolerate distractions in her classroom, Eleanor went over to the boy and commanded, "Take that off. You never worked hard enough to sweat."
Despite her tight rein, her students loved her, remembering her as "everything a great teacher and educator should be: completely dedicated to the well-being of her students, compassionate, extremely intelligent, highly disciplined, impeccably mannered, and a wonderful role model for all, including many students who later chose teaching as their profession." They credit her above all for teaching them respect, both for others and for themselves.
They also recall her concern for problems that students might be having at home and her determination to help them deal with them without allowing their school work to be adversely affected. One former third-grade student remains especially grateful (now fifty years later) for the concern Mrs. Ehlert showed during his father's long-term illness, when she helped him focus on his school work and appreciate that doing well in school was a good thing in itself and also that it would make his dad proud of him.
In nominating Mrs. Ehlert for the Education Hall of Fame, a group of her former students wrote that she "brought her many wonderful qualities to bear on more than a generation of Branford youngsters. We received a wonderfully solid education from her; and we took pride in playing fair, in good manners, and [in] being disciplined youngsters. I'd like to think that we have the same qualities as adults as a result of Mrs. Ehlert's influence on our young lives." What a wonderful tribute to a nearly forty-year career!
Returning to Branford, Miss Brannigan’s first teaching assignment was a combined first and second grade in Stony Creek. In 1935 she was transferred to the Harrison Avenue School.
Married in 1940 to George Ehlert, Eleanor interrupted her teaching career and in 1942 gave birth to a son. Theirs was a very close marriage, and family was central to Eleanor's life. Her son, George, now lives in Jacksonville, Florida, with his wife, Nancy. Eleanor's two granddaughters both reside in Dallas, Texas.
Returning to the classroom in 1946, Eleanor was assigned to the Harbor Street School where she would face the challenge, among others, of having her son and many of his friends as her second grade pupils. Future teaching assignments were to include the Damascus (Now Mary R. Tisko) and Brushy Plains (now Mary Murphy) Schools. She retired from the latter in 1973.
Former colleagues remember Eleanor as a grandmotherly type with a low-key sense of humor but with a steel spine. She was a teacher who was always able to bring out the best in her students. They recall her outstanding ability in math, in which she specialized during the time when teachers teamed and students switched classes. A teacher who was paired with her recalls a time in the late sixties when sweat bands were popular. Among the students lined up to enter her room for their math period, Eleanor spotted a boy wearing one. Never one to tolerate distractions in her classroom, Eleanor went over to the boy and commanded, "Take that off. You never worked hard enough to sweat."
Despite her tight rein, her students loved her, remembering her as "everything a great teacher and educator should be: completely dedicated to the well-being of her students, compassionate, extremely intelligent, highly disciplined, impeccably mannered, and a wonderful role model for all, including many students who later chose teaching as their profession." They credit her above all for teaching them respect, both for others and for themselves.
They also recall her concern for problems that students might be having at home and her determination to help them deal with them without allowing their school work to be adversely affected. One former third-grade student remains especially grateful (now fifty years later) for the concern Mrs. Ehlert showed during his father's long-term illness, when she helped him focus on his school work and appreciate that doing well in school was a good thing in itself and also that it would make his dad proud of him.
In nominating Mrs. Ehlert for the Education Hall of Fame, a group of her former students wrote that she "brought her many wonderful qualities to bear on more than a generation of Branford youngsters. We received a wonderfully solid education from her; and we took pride in playing fair, in good manners, and [in] being disciplined youngsters. I'd like to think that we have the same qualities as adults as a result of Mrs. Ehlert's influence on our young lives." What a wonderful tribute to a nearly forty-year career!