/ 202 MOMS / for her
The kids are alright
Gilbert mom and cofounder of charter schools keeps things child-centered
by Kimberly Hosey
ita Sippel always wanted to help
kids. From growing up in a family
of eight to working as a Montessori
school director, the Gilbert mother and
educator has served children.
It’s in cofounding two schools and a
preschool of her own in Chandler and
Gilbert – as well as through raising her
own five children – that she has really
found her calling.
Sippel is the cofounder, with her husband
Dr. Kristofer Sippel, of San Tan Learning
Center K-8 and San Tan Montessori Private
Prep Academy Preschool in Gilbert, as
well as Fulton Ranch Learning Center in
Chandler. She and her husband see the
charter schools and their unique approach to
education as their life’s mission.
After she got her teaching degree
Sippel worked in public schools, but had a
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vision for a school that nurtured children
who yearned to be more independent,
hands-on learners.
“At my core I am a child advocate, and
I dreamed of a school environment where
the needs of children were truly listened
to and responded to with love, patience
and knowledge,” she says.
Since opening the first school, Sippel
has been on a learning journey of her own,
and raising her own kids continues to give
her new insights into how children learn.
At the same time, she says her career feeds
expertise back into her own parenting.
“My parenting is more joyful and being
an educator is more fun,” she says.
One of her latest loves is learning and
bonding with kids through music.
“Just yesterday I was walking through
one of our preschool classrooms and
the children broke out in spontaneous
202 magazine / october 2013 / 202magazine.com
song. It was so cool,” she says. She is
involved with Music Together, an early
childhood music program that emphasizes
learning music through singing, playing
and – crucially – doing it all with their
caregivers. “I recently learned music is
linked to emotional bonding which has
given me hope that although I am not a
perfect parent there is always hope for me
to bond with my children.”
San Tan Learning Center expanded
from 40 to more than 500 students, and
was voted a top charter school in the East
Valley by the East Valley Tribune and won
large business of the year from the Gilbert
Chamber of Commerce in 2012. Sippel
takes this as a sign that the East Valley
community is open and enthusiastic
about her schools’ child-centered learning
approach, and it’s a growing demand that
she welcomes.