Aimee Wright

Aimee Wright is a Kindergarten teacher at Achieve Charter School of Chico.  She recently celebrated her twentieth year as a classroom teacher (eighteen of those years in Kindergarten!) and loves to experience life through the fresh perspectives of her enthusiastic five and six-year-old students.

Beyond the classroom, Aimee's passions extend to camping, hiking, and tending to her garden, which she shares with her husband—a fellow educator—and their two daughters, aged 11 and 9.  As a native of Paradise and a Chico Camp Fire transplant, Aimee feels deeply grateful for her life in Chico.  She believes the connectedness and support she experienced during the hardships of both a natural disaster, and navigating the complexities of teaching during a pandemic, allowed her to persevere to reach healing and post-traumatic growth.  

At the heart of Aimee's educational philosophy (and the mission and vision of Achieve Charter School) is the belief that optimal learning flourishes within a tight-knit school community, where every student is recognized individually and forms solid and meaningful connections with peers and adults.  When supported, humans can recover from difficult life circumstances, ranging from losing a tooth, to changes in a family’s makeup, toxic stress environments, and severe traumatic experiences.  Following the fire, Chico and Butte County communities embraced Achieve Charter School, bolstering it with facilities, resources, services, and LOVE.  This type of community allowed the staff and families of ACS (90% of whom lost their homes in the Camp Fire) to regroup, heal, and regain normalcy and growth amidst adversity.  This community support significantly impacted the post-traumatic growth of the organization, which has earned two California Distinguished School Awards post-fire and now serves students in both Chico and Paradise.

Aimee believes that when communities support education, it provides additional resources, diverse perspectives, fosters lifelong learning, provides positive role models, and bridges the gap between education and real-world applications.  This community support creates a symbiotic relationship where schools benefit from the resources and expertise of the community while the community benefits from well-educated, more self-regulated, and engaged individuals who can give back to the community.

As a new school year approaches, Aimee hopes to set up another batch of Kindergarten recruits for success with their educational journey and to provide a place where all students feel they belong, are challenged and supported, and are equipped with a foundation for making the world a better place.