Paloma Picon
Paloma Picon is a bilingual educator with over 16 years of experience in the field of education, both as a classroom teacher and school leader. Throughout that time she has had the opportunity to work with a wide variety of students from different countries and socio-economic backgrounds, in urban and suburban settings. Working in different environments has shaped her professional goal of advocating for a truly equitable education system; operating from the deep belief that eliminating barriers and co-learning about social and emotional intelligence with students promotes a classroom environment free of fear, where everyone can understand their own identities and honor others’; where everyone feels that they are accepted, safe and supported; where children are aware of their biases and work hard to overcome them.
Paloma feels that the framework of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) has helped her to be a more intentional and flexible teacher, giving all her students equal opportunities to succeed. Paloma sees her approach to education as continuously evolving as she learns and adapts each year to the needs of each individual, the group as a whole and the entire community. She feels grateful for the lens of UDL to support her in finding creative ways to supply each student with access to the curriculum and to a safe school environment, where they learn the skills and knowledge that will allow them to choose their life’s path. She joins Roots ConnectED grateful for being provided with a safe space to grow personally and professionally and is very inspired by its vision of an unified world. She is excited about being a part of a team with the intention of inspiring other educators to support a world with more empathy and acceptance while advocating for an equitable school community.