Startup founder of elevatEd Classrooms, Jaclyn empowers Educators with tools and teaching strategies to elevate their classrooms from surviving to thriving. Jaclyn works directly with K-12 Teachers to build confidence with their existing superpowers first, then by building competence in new areas to better engage students today, as well as prepare them for tomorrow.Jaclyn considers herself a ‘forever educator,’ starting her career in the classroom and continuing her professional journey guiding learners of all ages. After Jaclyn graduated from the University of Miami with a double major in Biology and Secondary Education, she began teaching high school biology and biomedical science at Oakcrest High School in New Jersey. As a young college graduate, Jaclyn started a PLTW Biomedical Science magnet program to offer more high-quality STEM opportunities for their diverse students. Jaclyn was extremely grateful for the guidance she received through participation in creative, non-traditional approaches to teaching and learning, and she wanted to empower more teachers with that same level of professional learning and support.After a very sad goodbye to Oakcrest, which had become her family, Jaclyn left the classroom to attend the University of Pennsylvania and earn her M.S.Ed. in education policy. There, Jaclyn studied under some of the nation’s top professors and researchers in education, which only fueled her drive to advocate for increased support for teachers through policy and high-quality professional learning. During her graduate school experience, Jaclyn was also introduced to the importance of a shared vision and community development by joining the STEM Learning Ecosystems in Philadelphia, then San Diego.Upon relocating to California, Jaclyn began assisting school districts with their adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and quickly became a local leader in STEM Education, as a co-chair for the Innovation in K-12 Working Group for the San Diego STEM Ecosystem. Jaclyn continued her aspiration to support teachers by visiting dozens of science teachers’ classrooms across the state and country, where she was able to observe and test out different research-based strategies to recommend to individual teachers, based on her observations. These classrooms became Jaclyn’s laboratories of innovation which catalyzed the creation of elevatEd Classrooms in 2020, just in time for the largest paradigm shift in the history of the US Education System. #STEMeducation #SEL #EdPolicy #equity #girlboss #WomeninSTEM #WomanOwned