Meet Our Founder

Hi there! I’m Tommi, founder of PivotED, lifelong educator, and mother of three part-time comedians, full-time energy on legs who now mostly eat everything in the house and leave socks in strange places. (I. Hate. Socks.)

My adventure in education started 18 years ago, almost by accident, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’ve taught in both public and private schools, sat through more meetings than should be legal, and realized something important. Standardized education doesn’t work for non-standard kids.

So I created PivotED, a microschool built around the belief that learning should be personal, meaningful, and maybe even fun. Here, we celebrate the weird and wonderful ways kids learn, offer hands-on experiences, and make space for curiosity that is encouraged and (almost) every question matters.

I’m passionate about helping kids love learning again, and I’m here to partner with families who want more than “sit still and listen.”

When I’m not designing learning experiences or dreaming up what school could be, I’m probably driving someone to practice, reheating coffee, or staring into the pantry wondering what happened to all the snacks.

PivotED is the school I always wished existed, and I’m so glad you’re here.

Caveat: I love education in all its forms — public, private, homeschool, co-op, charter, you name it.

I believe there are incredible, dedicated teachers everywhere, doing their best for kids every single day. If you're in it for the students, you're already my kind of people.

I don’t believe public school is failing or out to get anyone.
But I do believe there’s more than one way to lead these herds to water and maybe even help them want to drink when they get there.

PivotED is just one of those ways.
It’s not a fix. It’s a choice for families who want something more flexible, more personalized, and maybe a little messier in the best way.

#NotBetterJustDifferentOnPurpose