Biography

Isadora Baron has been passionate about educating children before she was even paid to do so. With a twin younger brother and sister, she has been teaching young children about the expanding world around them since she was 6-and-a-half. She acquired her first job as a babysitter as a young teenager; at 19, she was hired as an assistant teacher at the West Essex YMCA Peanut Shell Early Childhood Learning Center, where she has worked for almost three years. At Peanut Shell, she was certified as a director designee and helped lead the after-care program. She is now 22 and is completing her associate degree in psychology at Union County College, with plans to graduate in December and to transfer to Montclair State University to complete her bachelor’s degree. She is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.

When she is not in class, Isadora teaches humanistic cultural Judaism to a class of K–4 on Sunday mornings, where she taught fifth- and sixth-graders last year. On Saturday mornings, she volunteers at a local garden to harvest produce for food pantries. Isadora has a history of volunteering: in high school, she volunteered at Relay for Life—a charity event for the American Cancer Society—leading a team that raised over 2,000 dollars. Whether at work or in her free time, Isadora is driven by a desire to be of service to her community and to enhance the educational experiences of the children she is privileged to teach.

Personal Statement