Jessica Pauldo
Jessica Pauldo is an educational leader with 10 years of experience in the field of education, currently serving as an Instructional Coach with Atlanta Public Schools and a Dean of Students within Fulton County Schools. She is also a doctoral student in Educational Leadership at Georgia State University, where she is further developing her expertise with the long-term goal of becoming a principal. Her career reflects a consistent commitment to instructional excellence, student advocacy, and strengthening school communities through equity-centered leadership.
Jessica began her career as a middle school science teacher, teaching 6th and 8th grade science, where she combined her passion for science with a deep commitment to mentoring students, particularly young girls who shared similar backgrounds to her own. Over time, her interests expanded to include both literacy and science instruction, as she focused on serving as a positive role model for young Brown girls and fostering academic confidence in her classroom. After six years of teaching, she transitioned into instructional coaching, building on her classroom experience while completing both her master’s degree and specialist degree. Her earlier professional experiences also include work with Georgia Southern University, as well as foundational roles at the Cantrell Center for Physical Therapy, Sports Medicine, and Wellness and Ann Taylor, which helped shape her skills in communication, service, and leadership.
In her current role as Dean of Students, Jessica has expanded her impact by advocating for students and addressing issues of disproportionality affecting African American students, while gaining a deeper understanding of systemic challenges within education. She recognizes herself as a young leader who often sits as one of the youngest voices at the table, an experience that both strengthens her perspective and enhances her ability to connect with students. As a first-generation college student, she is driven by a strong commitment to excellence and representation, striving to serve as a role model for her younger sister and others in her family who are now pursuing higher education. Through her ongoing doctoral studies and leadership journey, she remains dedicated to advancing equity, improving student outcomes, and continuing her path toward becoming a school principal.
• Aspiring Leaders program with Atlanta Public Schools Principal Center
• Georgia Southern University - B.S. in Kinesiology
• NAACP member
• Former board member of Georgia Science Teachers Association
• Founder of Just Be Kind Foundation
• Annual holiday toy drive through church
What do you attribute your success to?
I would say family has been incredibly impactful for me. I am the first generation college student, so that has a lot to do with me striving for excellence and me striving to be the best at what I do, so I can be a role model to my sister, my younger sister, who's now getting ready to go to college. My parents were not able to complete a college degree, but I was the first in the family to graduate college, and I just want to continue to strive for excellence and be all that I can be, to show my sister that it is achievable. Being in the doctoral program at Georgia State has really been a pivotal moment for me in my career. The program is very family-oriented, and it allows me to see things in a culturally relevant way. We are able to have discussions and able to take some of those strategies directly to the role. I appreciate Georgia State for being culturally responsive. I've also completed an Aspiring Leaders program with Atlanta Public Schools, which has prepared me to move from thinking on a teacher level to a leadership level. Completing that program with Georgia State's Principal Center has helped shape my lens as a young leader.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would remind them that it's to enjoy the journey, and everybody's journey looks different, but find joy in the journey, and always enjoy what you do. Make sure you love what you do. I can't say that I've had a long-standing mentor, but I've had people that I have aspired to be like, or pages from people that I've taken to kind of develop my own book. I would say that mentorship would be something I'm still searching for as I continue to grow in education.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
When it comes to student learning, literacy rates are a huge topic right now, so making sure students are reading on grade level is a big push for me. The pandemic has had a huge impact on learning and how students learn, and we are trying to play catch-up from the pandemic, so it has created a learning deficit. And not just with learning, but as far as social aspects as well. When students are interacting face-to-face, sometimes they don't know how to outside of a phone, so I think we are working double time to try to undo some of the damage that came from the pandemic. As far as professionally goes, I've noticed that the further you go in leadership, there is less support. I would love to see more support or mentorship in the same capacity that we give to teachers, because there is still guidance that is needed. As a young leader, sometimes being the youngest at the table, I'm looking for guidance, or sometimes I need structured support, so I would love to see more wraparound services for people who are in leadership or who desire to be in leadership.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Kindness and giving people grace is a huge part of how I lead, because you can't lead without people. It's about making sure we take care of people. Through the Just Be Kind Foundation, which I started in 2016 in college, I encourage people to just show random acts of kindness. What started off as a mentoring project has grown over the years. It became a holiday drive where I would have people donate toys to the church, and we would do a toy drive in the community every year, showing acts of kindness. My first name is Jess, so it's playing off that name, and it's encouraging people to just show random acts of kindness. I feel like that is a huge part of how I lead - being kind to people, giving people grace. I'm big on women empowerment, I'm big on mentorship, and I'm big on lending a hand. Seeing other women being spotlighted in different fields, seeing women thrive, is a point of inspiration for me, and especially representation when you see someone who looks like you excelling. Things like that motivate me to see other women driving forward.