Dr. Rebecca Palacios is a National Teacher Hall of Fame inductee, National Board Certified Teacher, and leading expert in early childhood education. With over four decades of experience, she is a pioneer in the field of dual language learning and specializes in curriculum planning and instructional design.

In addition to co-founding and formerly serving as vice-chairperson of The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards — an organization that has certified more than 110,000 teachers — she also serves as a Senior Curriculum Advisor for Age of Learning, the leading education technology company that created ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy, and owns her own consulting business, Palacios Educational Consulting. She is also a co-founder of the Texas National Board Coalition for Teaching and currently serves as its Treasurer and Professional Learning Facilitator.

Dr. Palacios is the author of Being Your Child’s Most Important Teacher: A Guide for Families with Young Children, published by Shell Education, which offers advice and techniques to families with young children on enhancing early learning, nurturing curiosity, and preparing them for school. She is also the author of the Ana Dual Language Book Series, with books 1–8 of a planned 22-book series completed.

In 2023, Dr. Palacios received the James A. Kelly Award for Advancing Accomplished Teaching from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards — the highest honor bestowed by the organization. Past recipients include Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

Dr. Palacios is a featured expert on Reading Rockets, a national multimedia literacy initiative, and The Atlantic profiled her journey as an educator in the feature “A Witness to the Desegregation — and Resegregation — of America’s Schools.” She has presented at the local, state, national, and international levels. She was the first Latina to be inducted into the National Teacher Hall of Fame in 2014.