When Brittney Zimmer put her two children's names on the lottery list at SCVi, iLEAD's founding school, little did she know that she'd find a home for not just her kids, but also for herself.

 

Brittney had heard great things about SCVi from a friend who has two SCVi learners and serves as a parent representative on the school board. She heard equally great things from an SCVi upper school learner that Brittney had nannied for several years while the girl was growing up. This parent and learner perspective, and the fact that Brittney's son was struggling in a more traditional classroom environment, was enough for Brittney to make the move.

 

Brittney put the names of Kaden (now in 4th grade) and Noelle (now in 2nd grade) in the SCVi lottery three years ago, and it's proven to be one of the best choices Brittney has ever made for her family. For one, the kids now love going to school.

"My kids actually want to wake up and go to school," she says. "They're excited to be with their friends and learn new things. It was a struggle every morning to get my son up for school before. He would cry and wouldn't want to go because he was afraid to do something wrong and get in trouble for it. I noticed a huge difference in him. My daughter fits right in and loves it there. She likes the hands-on learning and leadership opportunities."

 

As a parent, Brittney loves that iLEAD has incorporated Love & Logic and the 7 Habits into the classroom since that's the way she parents at home. "My kids have thrived more learning through not getting punished," Brittney says. "At a traditional school, you get a red card if you're doing something incorrect, but here, you learn how to fix it on your own. I wanted a whole daily routine of that." 

Love & Logic and the 7 Habits are also the main things Brittney shares about iLEAD when asked by other parents in the community about her family's experience -- they're truly that important.

 

Brittney, who has a background in education and was working as a pre-school teacher at Kindercare, wanted to be a part of SCVi's positive learning environment as well and be closer to her kids during the school day. She immediately applied to be part of the care team that's so critical to the SCVi learner experience. This team of individuals works in the different grade levels, moving between classrooms and providing extra support when and where it's needed.

 

"I decided I wanted to work more with kids who needed extra help emotionally or who just needed more support in the classroom," says Brittney, who is now going on her third year with the care team and working with the 4/5 grade level. "It's so rewarding to know that I've helped a child. Maybe a child was having trouble with friends that day and I was able to watch, give advice and help them with the tools they needed so they could work out their problems. Watching them succeed at that and smile and knowing they'll go home happy is what I enjoy most."

 

So now that this family has found the right "home" at SCVi, what are they most excited about in the future? 

"The friendships and socialization are amazing, so I'm excited to see my kids learning and growing in the SCVi family and being more part of the school in general," says Brittney. For instance, Kaden and Noelle are just starting to become interested in some of the extracurricular programs SCVi offers, like sports and Lego Robotics. They are also planning to run the Final Mile Challenge with their SCVi peers. "Additionally, the growth of the school is really exciting, especially being able to have pre-school as part of SCVi starting this year. The more we're all together and work together, the more our school will thrive!"