S03E10 - From Classroom Teacher to CEO | Tammy Laughner

Build Momentum for Education - K-12 Superintendent Series

In this episode of Build Momentum, Sarah and Katie are joined by Tammy Laughner. Tammy is a retired primary/intermediate school teacher who served for almost 30 years in Indianapolis Public Schools. She is also the co-founder and CEO of Vimme Learning, an online math curriculum made by teachers for teachers to be used by students in grades K-8

Some Questions We Ask:

• Please tell us about yourself. (1:06)
• How and where did you start your journey? (2:03)
• What has the business world been like for you? (4:31)
• What’s your approach to reaching your target goal? (8:38)
• Tell us more about your company and why you intend to stay small. (10:46)
• What are your final thoughts and philosophies? (17:09)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• All about Tammy Laughner (1:13)
• How Vimme started (2:10)
• Tammy’s experiences in shifting to the business world (5:12)
• Her approach to impacting how students are taught math (8:42)
• About her company versus the larger companies in Indiana (11:02)
• Tammy’s thoughts on the power of being a classroom teacher (17:27)

Quotes:

“I'm in a world with big players like textbook companies—huge, huge players in the space. I'm not looking to see how many people I could get onto Vimme Learning. That's not what we're about. My goal is to impact as many students and how they’re taught math as we can.”
“With manufacturing leaving many medium- and small-sized towns, it's really decimated downtown areas. Math is so important because so many jobs that are not being filled have technical skills, and I'm super excited about the STEM push that's going on. I feel like we're really poised to make sure Indiana students are ready for any direction they want to go.”
"I'm born and raised in Indiana. My state is unique. It jumped off the Common Core bandwagon, so our standards are unique to Indiana. The big players go after the big fish, right? That's Common Core. And I just want to do well by the residents of Indiana. That's important to me.”
“There's something about seeing content when it hits the desks of a range of learners and how they interact with that curriculum. There's a lot of information there. It's a really powerful space, and I hope teachers understand the role they play and the information that they can see.”
Connect with us:
Tammy Laughner LinkedIn
Vimme Learning Website

Stay in touch with Sarah Williamson:
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SWPR GROUP Website
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Stay in touch with Chad Bolser:
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About "The Secret to Transformational Leadership," which Sarah co-authored with Dr. Quintin Shepherd:
Transformational Leadership Secret website
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