About the Authors

Amanda Czik is a Graduate Student and Research Assistant in school psychology at the University of Delaware. Her research focuses on policies influencing linguistically diverse students. She received a B.A. in Psychology and Spanish from the University of Michigan, and an M.A. in School Psychology from the University of Delaware. Ms. Czik is studying for an Ed.S. in School Psychology and a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Delaware.

Larissa M. Gaias, M.S., is a Doctoral Student in Family and Human Development at Arizona State University. She studies how formal and informal education environments can improve developmental outcomes for vulnerable children, nationally and internationally.

Scott Garrigan, Ed.D., is Professor of practice of Instructional Technology at Lehigh University. He studies and teaches about ways to empower learners and teachers through robotics, particularly in ways that can reach underserved populations in the United States and internationally.

Juana Gaviria-Loaiza is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Human Development and Family studies at the University of Delaware. She has worked as a research assistant for various prestigious projects, such as an Early Reading First grant. Her research interests consist of (1) Early language and literacy development, (2) play, and (3) Hispanic families.

Jaesook L. Gilbert, an Associate Professor of early childhood education (Birth-Kindergarten) program at Northern Kentucky University, has a doctorate degree in early childhood education from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She teaches early childhood courses on curriculum, assessment, programming, administration, supervision, and family engagement. Her prior work experiences include having been a classroom teacher, special education facilitator, parent consultant, and director.

Rena A. Hallam is Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies and Associate Director for the Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood. Dr. Hallam’s scholarship focuses on enhancing the quality of community-based child care programs. Currently, she is Lead Investigator on a federally funded study of professional development approaches to enhance the quality of care in family child care settings and co-Principal Investigator of the “Starting At Home” project designed to study the impact of a parent-child intervention implemented by Early Head Start home visitors.

Thomas C. Hammond, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Teaching, Learning, and Technology program at Lehigh University. His research interests focus on technology-mediated social studies instruction, particularly student-created multimedia in history instruction, geospatial technologies for history and geography education, and interactive conceptual modeling for history and civics education.

Myae Han is Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Delaware. Dr. Han’s research interests include (1) an early intervention for at risk children to support early language and literacy and parent-child interaction using applied and translational research, (2) play-based curriculum and intervention, (3) culturally and linguistically diverse children. She has codirected various federal and state-funded grant projects including three Early Reading First grant, Early Head Start University Partnership grant, Child Care Research Partnership grant, etc.

Helene Arbouet Harte is Assistant Professor of education at The University of Cincinnati, Blue Ash College and earned her doctoral degree in Special Education from The University of Cincinnati. She has worked in the community as a classroom teacher, center director, coach, content expert, and consultant. Her research interests include family engagement, engagement of young children in inclusive settings, and the engagement of students in the college classroom.

Jason T. Hustedt is Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Delaware and Research Director for the Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood. His research involves three main lines of scholarly work: (1) research on parent-child interactions in low-income families with infants and young children, (2) research on school readiness and the outcomes associated with early childhood programs, and (3) research on state and federal early childhood policies. He is Principal Investigator of the Starting at Home project, which incorporates a parent-child interaction intervention into Early Head Start home visits.

Kyoung Jin Kim is Assistant Professor of early childhood education at Wheelock College in Boston, Massachusetts. Her research interests include family involvement, immigrant families, and perceptions of quality in child care programs.

Lenore J. Kinne earned her doctoral degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Minnesota and is now an associate professor at Northern Kentucky University, teaching courses in classroom assessment. She works as an elementary classroom teacher, and as a program/project evaluator. Her research interests focus on assessment and evaluation.

Kandia Lewis is a nationally certified school psychologist with experience working with children who have academic, social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. She received a B.A. in Psychology from Rutgers University, an M.A. and an Ed.S., in School Psychology and a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Delaware. Dr. Lewis is a Research Scientist at Nemours BrightStart! and her primary area of research focuses on young bilingual children’s language and literacy development.

Peter L. Mangione, Ph.D., co-directs WestEd’s Center for Child and Family Studies. Mangione is one of the principal developers of the Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC), a national model for training early childhood practitioners. He has led the creation of early learning and development standards and curriculum, infant/toddler and preschool program guidelines, resources for supporting young dual language learners, and early childhood educator competencies.

Patricia H. Manz, Ph.D., is Associate Professor and Program Director of School Psychology at Lehigh University. Her research is directed toward improving early childhood education for ethnic minority and low-income children.

Kristin A. Martin, Ed.S., is a school psychologist in Baltimore County, Maryland. She is a recent graduate at Lehigh University’s School Psychology program.

Neda Moinolmolki is a recent Human Development and Family studies graduate at the University of Delaware. She has worked with various at risk preschool populations in her capacity as a practitioner and researcher. Dr. Moinolmolki’s research interests include (1) immigrant/refugee children’s school adjustment and well-being, (2) family literacy, and (3) culturally competent best practices.

Megan E. Pratt is Assistant Research Professor in the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics at Arizona State University. Her research focuses on how formal and informal early learning settings, ranging from Head Start to public libraries, support vulnerable children and families.

Brook E. Sawyer, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor in the Teaching, Learning, and Technology program at Lehigh University. Her research centers on promoting the language and literacy development of young children who have disabilities or who are dual language learners.

John A. Sutterby is Associate Professor at the University of Texas San Antonio. He is the series editor of Advances in Early Education and Day Care.

Linda K. Taylor is Assistant Professor of early childhood education at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Her research interests include family involvement and teacher education.

Michelle Taylor is Assistant Research Professor in the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics at Arizona State University. Her research focuses on community-based interventions to support social and emotional development of young children and early teacher professional development.

Lauren van Huisstede, M.S., is a Doctoral Student in Family and Human Development at Arizona State University. She studies how self-regulation develops within early parent-child relationships and is particularly interested in translating this research to support families with young children.

Elita Amini Virmani, Ph.D., leads projects designed to enhance the quality of early childhood development, early childhood mental health, and early care and education at WestEd’s Center for Child and Family Studies. She focuses on efforts aimed to improve parent and teacher capacity for sensitive, responsive, and reflective caregiving. Amini Virmani directs national trainings that support infant, and early childhood home visiting programs and co-directs the Parent Involvement Project (PIP), a locally funded family engagement project. Recently, she co-led the development of California Preschool Program Guidelines.

Jennifer Vu is Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Delaware. Her primary research interests center on young children’s affiliative relationships and examining these relationships from child-centered as well as caregiver-centered perspectives. Dr. Vu is co-Principal Investigator on the Starting at Home project and also serves on the advisory board for New Directions Early Head Start.

Ann-Marie Wiese, Ph.D., focuses on issues related to the education of young dual language learners at WestEd’s Center for Child and Family Studies and currently co-directs the Parent Involvement Project. She co-directed the project that developed the California’s Best Practices for Young Dual Language Learners Research Overview Papers, the relevant California Preschool Program Guidelines, and accompanying videos.