Picho Speaks in Celebration of National Educators Day

Picho shown with Grace Academy students and Matt Fitzsimons, Head of School

On Nov. 17, 2011, Grace Academy invited Katherine Picho, adjunct professor of statistics in the Department of Psychology, A&S, to speak in celebration of National Educators Day. Picho spoke to the entire school during math classes about her personal education path and the challenges she faced along the way.

Picho, who was born in Uganda and educated in England, Canada, and the United States, was selected for this honor because of her love of math and science, and her professional efforts to ensure that girls and young women are encouraged to pursue education and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Today's research demonstrates that while girls have narrowed the gap in achievement in the STEM areas, they are still not pursuing careers in those areas to the degree that boys and young men are.

At Grace Academy, Picho encouraged the girls to pursue their dreams. She discussed her own love of math and the passion required to reach their career goals. Picho additionally encouraged the students to continue to excel in any of the STEM disciplines, even in the face of adversity. In the spirit of the celebration, Picho also gave a generous donation of books for the Grace Academy library, hoping to fuel students' love of literature.

Grace Academy, the only tuition-free middle school for girls in Hartford, also recognized its own teaching staff on this special day. Many of the teachers are AmeriCorps teaching fellows and offer the girls the gifts of education, caring, enthusiasm and coaching, as well as being role models for "giving back" to the community.