Amanda Pickren: Be the Change

“I think everyone around me knew what I would do when I grew up, but I didn’t,” says Amanda Pickren. “I wanted to become a helicopter pilot or a dentist, or a nurse like my mom. But when I tested those things out, I realized they weren’t for me.” As she discarded various career paths, Amanda found herself continually gravitating to teaching, the profession her family and friends had always seen in her.

Amanda now teaches all subjects for the seventh grade at Woodson Elementary in Corning, CA, but she has spent much of her career teaching middle school math and science. Tiffany Dietz, the principal of Maywood DaVinci Elementary school, where Amanda recently taught, describes Amanda as “a teacher who remains positive in the face of challenges, learns the needs of her students, and advocates for them and rises above as a skilled math teacher.”

Perhaps Amanda did not initially consider teaching because her passion did not align with the traditional teaching structure. “I’m not drawn to the classroom teacher setting,” she says. “I don’t like to lecture. I love to spark learning, creating an environment where everyone is excited, and learning something new. I love seeing the expressions on kids’ faces when they understand something for the first time.” To light this spark, Amanda equips students to learn by discovery. To teach kids to find the area of a trapezoid, for example, Amanda gives them paper, scissors, and a reminder that they already know how to find the area of a rectangle. With these tips, kids recognize geometric relationships and find the patterns behind the rote formulas. Adrienne Scott, the curator of the Valene Smith Museum of Anthropology, where Amanda worked as a summer camp counselor, says Amanda has a unique ability to “make abstract concepts in math and science very accessible and easy to understand.” Amanda says most of her students start her classes with an aversion to math but finish with an appreciation for and confidence in the subject.

Because of her love for hands-on learning, in June 2018 Amanda opened Chico Enrichment Center, a place for affordable extracurricular classes and homework help for grades K-12. Amanda contracts credentialed teachers to provide small-group instruction at the center, offering homework help, cooking classes, and other interactive lessons, all while keeping fees low so “everyone can have access to quality education.” Amanda Sanchez, a local parent, says her 10- and 13-year-old sons enjoyed every minute of summer camp at Chico Enrichment Center. “Because it is so hands-on, they remember a lot of what they learned,” Sanchez says. “They did a mock crime-scene investigation to learn about blood. Another day, they tasted food from a local Thai chef as part of studying Thailand. Amanda gets right to each kid’s level. My boys love her!”

Amanda credits Ms. Divine, her second-grade teacher, with helping her see the beauty of learning. “I was a tough kid, and I got in trouble a lot,” Amanda says. “I even kicked the student teacher! But Ms. Divine always made a point to include me, even though I was behind my peers. I remember thinking, “Wow, I’m not in trouble, she just wants me to be part of the group.” That was the moment I realized learning didn’t have to be negative.” Amanda also says her mother and her stepmother have been incredible role models, mentioning how her stepmom owns an occupational therapy clinic that helps disabled children. “She knows everything about kids, and she has been an amazing resource for me in opening my own business,” says Amanda.

Between her full-time teaching position and the learning center, Amanda’s life is full of children. Amanda loves her jobs so much she considers them almost equivalent to hobbies. But when she’s not working with kids, Amanda likes to plunge into the great outdoors. “Teaching can be distressing when you love the kids and you know they’re going home to difficult situations,” Amanda says. “Somehow hiking out to the middle of nowhere and sleeping outside gives me a perspective that I can’t save every kid; my purpose is to create happiness and positivity within myself and those around me. Just give me a good book and a fishing pole!”

The mission of our be the change column is to feature community members from the north state who are actively making a difference in community life. If you would like to nominate someone who is making a difference, please write to pn@northstateparent.com.