Karen Murillo is a neuropsychologist, educator, and researcher who is passionate about promoting children’s success both inside and beyond the classroom.
She co-founded a private school in Mexico City, co-authored numerous ebooks, and created curricula and learning environments for kids.
Karen’s career as a teacher began when she was very young. She worked as a nanny while still in her adolescent years, assisting families with their young children.
She continued to work toward a degree in administration and soon after helped launch a private school in Mexico City.
She earned her certification as an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher for young children while still in college. Hours spent in the classroom later, she understood she had found her purpose. She put it this way: “I realized that my passion was being in the classroom and being able to support more teachers and families in helping children thrive from a very young age.”
She started creating training curricula for instructors in the school setting as a result of her interest. Her career as a coach and coordinator for Pre-K and Elementary teachers eventually resulted from this.
She continued on to complete her Master’s in Neuropsychology and Education since she wanted to become an authority in her area. She says, “I was able to dig deeply into the research on how children learn and how we can better support each child to achieve and learn in different contexts and settings.”
Her expertise and experience were put to the test after graduation when the pandemic struck. She made changes to the classroom during that period that benefited teachers, students, and families. In addition, she developed a program to help and train families on a weekly basis while also teaching middle school kids and training teachers.
Karen immediately established a reputation for her work and received an invitation to join the HighScope Mexico Institute as an associate. She created courses and workshops for online learning there for teachers around Mexico.
Additionally, she co-wrote the Spanish “Interactive Read-Alouds” that were later given to schools in Latin America and Spanish-speaking institutions in the US.
She received a request to join the HighScope Education Research Foundation as a researcher as a result of her efforts. She became an Early Childhood Specialist there and took part in significant projects as a trainer and coach.
Karen’s career has been filled with difficulties. One of the major ones concerned supporting young children who were experiencing developmental challenges. “I decided to understand more deeply why some children thrive while others experience difficulties,” she says.
She pursued a Master’s in Neuropsychology and Education for this reason. “I was able to understand how the brain develops from a young age and how adults are key to supporting their development,” the author says. “Educating with a mindset of helping children and adapting to their needs as opposed to expecting children to adapt to schools or a system.”
Helping others is one of the most crucial skills she has learnt, and it can help change the world. According to her, “…working in education and research, you can help one child at a time, making it a domino effect that will impact our future generations.”
Karen Murillo has made it her life’s work to support kids’ academic and extracurricular success. Her work has established her as a teacher who is committed to changing education so that every child can realize their full potential.