www.negociosnow.com
March 2023 34
Age: 27
Title: Director of Diverse Learning
Organization: Excel Academy
of Southwest
As a first-generation Latinx co-
llege student, advocating and
pursuing educational equity
has always been Calderón's
passion.
As a Chicago native and
Chicago Public Schools gra-
duate, she wanted to pursue
a role in education where she
could serve and elevate chan-
ge for communities and stu-
dents of color.
In 2018 she joined Teach for
America. Her experiences and
challenges within the educa-
tion system pushed her to seek
opportunities to support the
highest-needs students in the
city: diverse learners. She has
helped lead the transition to
a curriculum focused on cul-
turally relevant pedagogy that
acknowledges students' sto-
ries, voices, and experiences.
Her goal is for students to take
their stories beyond the clas-
sroom and push boundaries
set by the education system.
As a queer Latina, Calderón
wants to create a space where
the BIPOC community, which
has been marginalized for so
long, feels embraced when they
walk into schools. She currently
serves as director of diverse
learning for Excel Southwest, an
alternative option school con
-
tracted with CPS. The school
serves students who haven
been removed from traditional
schooling because of various
barriers and challenges.
As a restorative justice
practitioner, she believes that
BIPOC communities need
significant healing from harm
created through generations
by the education system. As an
experienced interventionist,
LSB1, and case manager for
alternative secondary educa
-
tion, she will begin her next
journey in policy and syste-
mic change by serving in the
inaugural class of leaders of
color for systemic change with
Teach For America.
Elevating
diverse
students
Elisabeth Ocon
Calderón
WORDS OF WISDOM:
"H
er mother used to tell her,
Cuando mires vien no se
puede ignorar (once you take a
look, you can't ignore it).".
