Head Start Letter

February 28, 2003

Dear Representative:

As recognized experts in the fields of early childhood development and assessment, we write to express our concerns about plans proposed by the Head Start Bureau to implement a National Reporting System for all 4- and 5-year-olds in Head Start in the Fall of 2003. We agree in principle with the need to conduct ongoing child assessments. However, we are troubled by both the timing and structure of this new proposed effort. In this letter we suggest ways of improving the proposed testing plan and reducing the potential harm that a test of this kind may have for young children.

The plan for the Head Start reporting system calls for each of the 525,000 4-year-olds in Head Start to sit for a standardized, 20 – 30-minute test in literacy and numeracy skills. This would add on to three types of assessments already occurring. First, to improve students’ performance, all Head Start programs are required to assess learning regularly in all domains of development. Second, to foster program quality, every Head Start program is monitored periodically with a system that identifies programs that need to be improved. Third, a longitudinal study (“FACES”) provides national data on the effectiveness of Head Start. In addition, a Congressionally mandated impact study that utilizes random assignment to treatment and control groups is underway. Let there be no doubt; assessment is alive and well in Head Start.

Why, then, is a new and potentially costly assessment being proposed? The rationale given by the Administration is to determine if every Head Start program is meeting expectations in literacy and numeracy, and to use the results to determine if additional training or continued funding are called for.
The assessments being considered are narrow, occur outside of the context of classroom learning, depend heavily on language skills and language learning, and rely on children having had particular opportunities to learn what is on the test in order to perform well on it. Moreover, several of the subtests that have been proposed have only been used with kindergarten-aged children, and the evidence for the validity of several subtests is weak. The use of such assessments is not supported by research, which shows that preschool tests contribute no more than 25% of the variance to kindergarten or first grade academic or cognitive performance (LoParo & Pianta, 2000).
It is widely accepted that learning that occurs in early childhood is episodic and uneven, with great variability among children. The National Research Council, in its report called Eager to Learn: Educating our Preschoolers, warns that due to this episodic learning, and the widespread dissatisfaction with traditional standardized tests – especially those used for accountability – assessments “must be used carefully and appropriately if they are to resolve, and not create educational problems.”

In short, as research with older children suggests, the new reporting system itself can change Head Start by narrowing its focus and altering what is taught and valued. The tremendous diversity of the children in Head Start will be hard-pressed to conform to a single vision of what they should know and be able to do at a particular point in time. Instead of eliminating the failures of the Head Start program, this system may teach young children to view themselves as failures, simply because they see things or represent them differently than the test developers, or because they learn skills in ways that differ from how those skills are represented on the test. Even President Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” Act does not mandate testing until third grade.
We have specific recommendations that will improve the Reporting System and safeguard children from potential harm. First, we believe that any national reporting system must incorporate a matrix sampling plan. This type of design is used in NAEP and other large scale assessments. It involves giving parts of tests to individual children but giving no single child all of the items on a test. Statistically, it is then possible to construct composites that tell us precisely what the Bureau wants to know: how well individual grantees are doing. A matrix sampling plan will lower the risk of teaching to the test, because it will be very difficult to know which items any child will be administered. It is also very efficient and effective for demonstrating program effects.

Second, since a matrix design requires substantial lead time to develop, a field trial should be mounted this fall rather than rushing to put the whole system in place within the next 6 – 8 months. This will not only provide more opportunity to train teachers, figure out the logistics of testing hundreds of thousands of children, and develop the alternate forms of the test required for matrix sampling, it will also make it possible to try out and validate all of the subtests that have been proposed for the test, some of which have never been used with children this young or children enrolled in Head Start, and to deal comprehensively with questions of how English Language Learners will be engaged in this effort. Moreover, it will give Congress an opportunity to provide oversight on this important and potentially policy-changing initiative-something that has not yet occurred-and it will enable the Head Start Bureau to plan for the technical assistance it intends to provide to programs that do not perform well on the Reporting System..
If we can move ahead on adopting a matrix sampling design for the proposed Reporting System; if we can ensure that the System is composed of subtests that are reliable, valid, and fair; and if we can have adequate time to learn how to mount this historically largest-ever effort to test young children without creating chaos and confusion, then we will have created a system that has a chance of assisting young, at-risk children.

Sincerely,


Samuel Meisels, President, Erikson Institute
W. Steven Barnett, National Institute for Early Education Research
S. Lynn Kagan, Columbia University Teachers College Linda M. Espinosa, National Institute for Early Education Research

Adrienne Akers
Senior Researcher, Early Intervention Research Institute
Utah State University – Logan
Sue Allen
Manager, Children’s Center
Brazosport College – Lake Jackson TX
Terry Anderson
Director, Early Childhood Programs
Western New Mexico University – Silver City
Tonya Armstrong
Licencsed Psychologist- Alase Center of Enrichment
Duke University
Jeffrey Arrigo
Coordinator
Project Construct National Center – Columbia MO
Linda Aulgur
Chair, Education Department
Westminster College – Fulton MO
Lynette Aytch
Professor, National Center for Early Development and Learning
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Mark Bailey
Associate Professor
Pacific University – Forest Grove OR
Marjorie Bakken
President
Wheelock College – Boston
Nancy Balaban
Faculty
Bank Street Graduate School of Education
Sue Ballentine
Director, Bellagio Center
University of California at L.A.
Linda Banks-Santilli
Assistant Professor of Education
Wheelock College – Boston
Oscar Barbarin
L. Richardson and Emily Preyer Bicentennial Distinguished Professor for Strengthening Families
University of North Carolina School of Social Work
Gina Barclay-McLaughlin
Associate Professor, Early Childhood Program
University of Tennessee – Knoxville
Marion Barnett
Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education
Buffalo State College
Kathy Bartelmay
Curriculum Director
Duke School for Children – Durham NC
Margaret Bartow
Professor and Chair, Department of Early Childhood Education
Prince George’s Community College – Largo MD
Maria Benejan
Director, Center for Universal Pre-K Division of Continuing Education
Bank Street College of Education
Terry Berkeley
Professor
Towson University – Baltimore

Laura Berkowitz
Distinguished Professor of Psychology
Illinois State University – Normal
Nancy Berkowitz
Director, Early Childhood Special Education Programs, Graduate Faculty
Bank Street College of Education
Victor Bernstein
Research Associate / Associate Professor – Department of Psychiatry
University of Chicago
Jeanette Bineham
Executive Director
Reach-Up, Inc. (Early Head Start/Head Start), St. Cloud MN
Marian Birch
Clinical Coordinator, Certificate Program in Infant Mental Health
University of Washington – Seattle
Linda Black
Lecturer – Department of Early Childhood Education
Towson University – Baltimore
Charles Bloom
Lecturer – Department of Early Childhood Education
Towson University – Baltimore
Christine Boisvert
Director, Lowry Early Childhood Education Center, School of Education and Human Services
Oakland University
Todd Boressoff
Public Policy Chair, National Coalition for Campus Children’s Centers
BMCC Early Childhood Center – New York

Pamela Boulton
Director
University of Wisconsin Children’s Center – Madison
Barbara Bowman
Professor
Erikson Institute
Brenda Boyd
Associate Professor of Human Development
Washington State University – Pullman
Gerald Bracey
Associate, High/Scope Educatinal Research Foundation, Ypsilanti, Michigan andAssociate Professor, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
Sue Bredekamp
Director of Research
Council for Professional Recognition
Mary Jane Brotherson
Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Studies
Iowa State University
Stephanie Brown
Reach Out and Read, Chicago Citywide Coordinator
Literacy Chicago
Susan Brown
President and CEO
Evergreen Children’s Association
Kimberly Browning
Assistant Professor of Education
University of Michigan – Flint
Erin Brumbaugh
Professor, Early Childhood Program
Marietta College – Marietta OH

Donna Bryant
Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Melissa Burnham
Assistant Professor, Dept. Human Development & Family Studies
University of Nevada, Reno
Denise Buthion
Director, Oklahoma City Child Development Center
Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma City
Melanie Caldwell
Director, Early Childhood Center
Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights
Susan Campbell
Professor, Chair, Developmental Program, Department of Psychology
University of Pittsburgh
Nancy Cardwell
Graduate Faculty
Bank Street College of Education
Rose Casement
Assistant Professor
University of Michigan – Flint
Amy Casey
Project Coordinator – Center for Child Development and Research
Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital
Virginia Casper
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Graduate School
Bank Street College of Education
Basanti Chakraborty
Assistant Professor of Education
New Jersey City University
Rosalind Charlesworth
Professor and Chair, Department of Child and Family Studies
Weber State University, Ogden UT
Jie-Qi Chen
Associate Professor
Erikson Institute
Kent Chrisman
Associate Professor, Early Childhood Education
University of Pennsylvania at Shippensburg
Susan Churchill
Assistant Professor, Family and Consumer Sciences
University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Marvin Cohen
Director of Instructional Technology
Bank Street College of Education
Renatta Cooper
Director, Jones/Prescott Institute
Pacific Oaks College
Christy Corbin
Associate Director, Early Childhood Teacher Education
University of Maryland – College Park
Janet Whelan Couch
Executive Director, Campus Center for Young Children
Goshen College – Goshen IN
Donna Couchenour
Professor, Teacher Education
University of Pennsylvania at Shippensburg
Lola Davis
Professor of Early Childhood Education
University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond

Carol Brunson Day
President and CEO
Council for Professional Recognition
Tom Day
Assistant Professor, Child & Family Studies
Weber State University, Ogden UT
Carolyn Denham
President
Pacific Oaks College
Louise Derman-Sparks
Co-Director, Early Childhood Equity Alliance
Pacific Oaks College
Margo Dichtelmiller
Assistant Professor
Eastern Michigan University
Diane Trister Dodge
President
Teaching Strategies, Inc. – Washington, D.C.
Aviva Dorfman
Assistant Professor of Education
University of Michigan – Flint
Barbara Dubitsky
Director – Mathematics Leadership Program
Bank Street College of Education
Kellie Duffy
Assistant Professor, Early Childhood
Brazosport College – Lake Jackson TX
Jennifer Edwards
ECE Program Coordinator
Central Oregon Community College – Bend OR
Lynne Einbender
Faculty
Bank Street College of Education
Eileen Eisenberg
Assistant Professor & Training Coordinator
National-Louis University – Chicago – Chicago
Paula Elliott
Assistant Professor of Education
Wheelock College – Boston
Kay Emfinger
Project Director – Ready to Learn in School
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Joan Ershler
Director, Waisman Early Childhood Program
University of Wisconsin – Madison
Rebekah Fassler
Associate Professor, Coordinator of Early Childhood Masters Programs
St. John’s University – Jamaica NY
Susan Feingold
Executive Director
Bloomingdale Family Program, Inc. – New York NY
Richard H. Feldman
Graduate Faculty
Bank Street College of Education
Marjorie Fields
Professor of Early Childhood Education
University of Alaska Southeast – Juneau
Roxanne Fillmore
Chair, Curriculum and Instruction, Associate Professor
Northeastern State University – Tahlequah
Nancy Fineberg
Director, UIC Children’s Center
University of Illinois at Chicago

Catherine Finn
Associate Professor
Wheelock College – Boston
Pamela Fleege
Associate Professor and Director
University of South Florida – Tampa
Lisa Fleisher
Associate Professor – Department of Teaching and Learning
New York University
Amy Flynn
Director
Bank Street College of Education
Don Fraser
Adjunct Professor
Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs – University of Minnesota
Helen Freidus
Co-Director, Reading and Literacy Program, Graduate Faculty
Bank Street College of Education
Ellen Friedland
Assistant Professor, Early Childhood Education
Wheelock College – Boston
Barry Frieman
Professor
Towson University – Baltimore
Doris Fromberg
Professor, Chairperson, Department of Curriculum & Teaching
Hofstra University – New York
Brenda Fyfe
Acting Dean, School of Education
Webster University – St. Louis MO

Anastasia Galanopolous
Assistant Professor of Human Development
Wheelock College – Boston
Michael Gamel-McCormick
Director, Center for Disabilities Studies
University of Delaware – Newark
Corinne Garland
Executive Director
Child Development Resources – Norge VA
Celia Genisha
Coordinator, Program in Early Childhood Education
Teachers College, Columbia University
Rita Geovania
Director, UIC Children’s Center
University of Illinois at Chicago
Linda Gilkerson
Professor
Erikson Institute
Artin Goncu
Professor, College of Education
University of Illinois at Chicago
Lourdes Gonzalez
Professor
Inter American University – Guayama PR
Linda Good
Associate Professor
Minnesota State University
William Goodwin
Professor, School of Education
University of Colorado at Denver
Sherri Griffin
Professor of Early Childhood Education
Central Methodist College

Nancy Gropper
Director, Preservice Program in Early Childhood & Elementary Education
Bank Street College of Education
Betsy Grub
Graduate Faculty
Bank Street College of Education
Sydney Gurewitz Clemens
Faculty
UC Davis
Ann Hains
Professor, Department of Exceptional Education
University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee
Melnick Hal
Advisor/Instructor, Leadership In Mathematics Education Graduate Program
Bank Street College of Education
Rena Hallam
Assistant Professor, Department of Family Studies
University of Kentucky – Lexington
Willard W. Hartup
Regents’ Professor Emeritus, Institute of Child Development
University of Minnesota
Robin Hasslen
Professor & Chairperson, Department of Child and Family Studies
St. Cloud State University – St. Cloud MN
J. Amos Hatch
Professor
University of Tennessee – Knoxville
Laura Henderson
Senior Research Associate, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
Georgia State University – Atlanta
Julie Henry
Associate Professor of Education
Canisius College – Buffalo NY
Diane Horm
Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, Associate Dean of College of Human Science
University of Rhode Island – Kingston
Carol Horton
Research Associate
Erikson Institute
Lady June Hubbard
Associate Professor of Education
Wheelock College – Boston
Cynthia Hudley
Department of Education
University of California, Santa Barbara
Aletha Huston
Priscilla Pond Flawn Regents Professor of Child Development
University of Texas at Austin
Mark Innocenti
Associate Director, Early Intervention Research Institute
Utah State University – Logan
Linda Jagielo
Early Childhood Education Program Coordinator
Southwest State University – Marshall MN
Sandi Jessen
Director of The Children’s House, College of Education
Minnesota State University – Mankato
Deborah Johnson
Professor, Department of Family & Child Ecology
Michigan State University – East Lansing
Mary Ann Johnson
Associate Professor of English
Wheelock College – Boston
JoAnn Johnson
Director, Research and Educational Planning Center and Nevada University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disablilities
University of Nevada, Reno
Elizabeth Jones
Professor, Human Development
Pacific Oaks College
Paula Jorde Bloom
Professor / Director – The Center for Early Childhood Leadership
National-Louis University – Chicago
Elaine Joseph
Director, Newcomb Children’s Center
Tulane University – New Orleans
Michael Kalinowski
Rand Stearns Associate Professor and Chairperson, Department of Family Studies
University of New Hampshire, Durham
Augusta Souza Kappner
President
Bank Street College of Education
Aphra Katzey
Research Associate, Family Policy
Oregon State University – Corvallis
Judith Kieff
Associate Professor, Early Childhood Education
University of New Orleans
Younghee Kim
Associate Professor, Education Department
Southern Oregon University – Ashland
Margaret King
Professor
Ohio University – Athens
Nancy Kipping
Associate Professor, Early Childhood Education
University of Missouri – Columbia
Mubina Kirmani
Associate Professor
Towson University – Baltimore
Terry Kitchen
Director and Adjunct Faculty, Children’s Learning Center
Hagerstown Community College, Hagerstown PA
Amelia Klein
Associate Professor, Early Childhood Education
Wheelock College – Boston
Elisa Klein
Associate Professor, Department of Human Development / Institute for Child Study
University of Maryland – College Park
Nancy Klein
Professor
Cleveland State University
Tovah Klein
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Barnard College – New York
Jon Korfmacher
Assistant Professor
Erikson Institute
Kathleen Kostelny
Senior Research Associate
Erikson Institute
Mary Lammers
Administrator, UCLA Child Care Services
University of California at L.A.
Harriet Lenk
Co Chair, Teacher Education
Bank Street College of Education
Diane Levin
Professor of Education
Wheelock College – Boston
Henry Levin
William Heard Kilpatrick Professor of Economics and Education
Teachers College, Columbia University
Linda Levine
Graduate Faculty
Bank Street College of Education
Marva Lewis
Associate Professor
Tulane University School of Social Work – New Orleans
Dan Liston
Professor, School of Education
University of Colorado
Bonnie Lockhart
Instructor, Early Childhood Education
Hayward State University – California
Deborah Lowe Vandell
Professor of Educational Psychology
University of Wisconsin- Madison
Catherine Main
Coordinator of Early Childhood Program, College of Education
University of Illinois at Chicago
Micheline Malow-Iroff
Assistant Professor, Queens College
Queens College, CUNY
Sarah Mangelsdorf
Professor / Associate Provost, Department of Psychology
University of Illinois – Urbana
Karen Marschke
Graduate Faculty
Bank Street College of Education
Nancy Marshall
Associate Director, Center for Research on Women
Wellesley College – MA
Ellie Martin
Director, Anne Arundel Community College Child Development Center – SUNY
Anne Arundel Community College – Arnold MD
Denise Masone
Lecturer, Child Development
SUNY Stony Brook
Michael Mathers
Executive Director
Chapel Hill Training Outreach Project
Marsha Maupin
Assistant Professor of Child and Family Studies, Director of the Burrier Child Development Center
Eastern Kentucky University – Richmond
Kelly Maxwell
Research Scientist, FPG Child Development Institute
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Brent McBride
Director, Child Development Laboratory, Professor of Human Development
University of Illinois – Urbana

Rebecca McCathren
Professor, Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education
University of Missouri – Columbia
Beth McDonald
Project Coordinator – Steinhardt School of Education
New York University
Jennifer McGregor
Assistant Director
The Rockefeller University Child and Family Center
Nancy McKeever
Faculty
Bank Street College of Education
Donna McKibbens
Coordinator of Teacher Licensure
Wheelock College – Boston
Jules McLeland
Program Manager, Child Development Center
Western Washington University – Bellingham
Margie McMahan
Professor of Early Childhood Education
Cameron University – Lawton OK
Paula McMurray-Schwarz
Assistant Professor
Ohio University Eastern Campus – St. Clairsville
Margaret McNamara
Director of the Reading and Literacy Program
Bank Street College of Education
Gillian McNamee
Professor
Erikson Institute
R. A. McWilliam
Director, Center for Child Development & Research; Professor of Pediatrics
Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital
Virginia Miller
Graduate Faculty
Bank Street College of Education
Gayle Mindes
Professor and Chair of Teacher Education, School of Education
DePaul University – Chicago
Alex Molnar
Professor and Director-Dept of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
Arizona State University
Mary Montgomery
Executive Director of Brockport Child Care Center
SUNY Brockport
Mary Jane Moran
Assistant Professor, Department of Child & Family Studies
University of Tennessee – Knoxville
Carol Morrison
Adjunct Faculty
Ivy Tech State College – Kokomo IN
Cheryl Mroz
Infant Mental Health Specialist / Developmental Psychologist
Child Study Center – Chicago
Cynthia Murphy
Director, The Children’s Center
College of Staten Island – New York
Nancy Nager
Graduate Faculty
Bank Street College of Education
Virginia Navarro
Assistant Professor – Educational Psychology, Research and Evaluation
University of Missouri – St. Louis
Bonnie Neugebauer
Editor
Child Care Information Exchange Magazine
John Nimmo
Faculty, Human Development & Early Childhood Education
Pacific Oaks College
Lesia Oesterreich
State Early Childhood Extension Specialist
Iowa State University – Ames
Thom O’Mara
Assistant Professor – Early Childhood Programs
Herkimer County Community College – New York
Gary Orfield
Professor of Education and Social Policy, Co-Director, Civil Rights Project
Harvard University
Christine Ormsbee
Associate Dean for Teacher Education / Associate Professor of Special Education
University of Oklahoma – Norman
Lillian Oxtoby
Professor Emeritus, CUNY
City University of New York
Cynthia Paris
Coordinator of Early Childhood Programs
Rider University – Lawrenceville NJ
Deborah Pavur
Associate Director, Newcomb College Nursery School
Tulane University – New Orleans
Candice Percansky
Adjunct Faculty
Erikson Institute
Carla Poole
Faculty
Bank Street College of Education
Carolyn Pope Edwards
Professor of Psychology & Family and Consumer Sciences
University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Joan Ports
Lecturer – Department of Early Childhood Education
Towson University – Baltimore
Douglas Powell
Professor, Department of Child Development and Family Studies
Purdue University – Lafayette IN
Beth Price
Director, Child Development Center
NCSC/Ohio State University – Mansfield
Ginger Ramsden
Manager of Family, School & Children’s Programs
University of Southern Indiana, Extension Services
Carol Raupp
Professor of Psychology
California State University – Bakersfield
Aisha Ray
Assistant Professor
Erikson Institute
Julie Ray
Assistant Professor of Education
Southeast Missouri State University – Cape Girardeau MO
Carol Rector
Professor, Early Childhood Education Center
San Francisco State University
Cheryl Render Brown
Associate Professor
Wheelock College – Boston
Ann Riall
Coordinator, Early Childhood Education, Special Education Department
University of Wisconsin – Whitewater
Rena Rice
Graduate Faculty
Bank Street College of Education
Joanne Robertson Bizzaro
Assistant Professor, Literacy Department, School of Education
St. John’s University – Jamaica NY
Nedra Robinson
Professor, College of Education
Concordia University – St. Paul MN
Debbie Rodgers
Associate Professor, Early Childhood Education
University of Oklahoma – Norman
Lori Roggman
Professor, Department of Family and Human Development
Utah State University – Logan
Barbara Rogoff
Professor of Psychology
University of California at Santa Cruz
Jane Rosenberg
Children’s School Director
Pacific Oaks College

Virginia Rosenberg
Graduate Faculty
Pacific Oaks College
Sharon Rosenkoetter
Professor, Human Development & Family Sciences
Oregon State University – Corvallis
Barbara Rosenquest
Associate Professor
Wheelock College – Boston
Jerrold Ross
Dean, The School of Education
St. John’s University – Jamaica NY
Stefi Rubin
Associate Professor of Education
Wheelock College – Boston
Naomi Samuels
Director, Children’s Program
Jane Addams Hull House – Chicago
Nancy Sayre
Interim Associate Dean, Professor
Clarion University – Clarion PA
Paulette Schreck
Chair, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
University of Central Oklahoma – Edmund
Dorothy Schroeder
Assistant Professor, Early Childhood Education
Suffolk County Community College – New York
Carol Seefeldt
Professor
University of Maryland – College Park

Nancy Segall
Past President
Illinois Association for Infant Mental Health – Chicago
Melissa Shamblott
Work Sampling Coordinator
St. Paul Public Schools
Bonnie Shiller
Instructor, Early Childhood Education
University of Missouri – St. Louis
Patricia Shimm
Associate Director
Barnard College Center for Toddler Development
Rhonda Shult
Family Advocate
Oregon State University Head Start Pre-K Program – Corvallis
M. Trika Smith-Burke
Professor, Department of Teaching and Learning
New York University
Catherine Snow
Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Joanne Sorts
Director, Child Development Center
Oregon State University – Corvallis
Susan Spieker
Professor, Family and Child Nursing
University of Washington – Seattle
Julie Spielberger
Senior Researcher, Chapin Hall Center for Children
University of Chicago

Dolores Stegelin
Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education
Clemson University – Clemson SC
Karen Stephens
Director, ISU Child Care Center & Instructor in Child Development
Illinois State University – Normal
Barbara Stern
Graduate Faculty
Bank Street College of Education
Fiona Stewart
Director of Grant Administration & Adjunct Faculty
Pacific Oaks College
Deborah Stipek
Dean, The School of Education
Stanford University
Francis Stott
Dean & VP of Academic Programs
Erikson Institute
Debra Sullivan
President
Praxis Institute for Early Childhood Education – Seattle
Rhonda Swanson
Director, Northern State University Children’s Center
Northern State University – Aberdeen SD
Lou Sweigman
Program Director, Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Education & Human Development
State University College at Brockport

Sharon Syc
Assistant Clinical Professor
Erikson Institute
Catherine Thomas
Coordinator of NICU Follow Up Program & Developmental Specialist
Good Samaritan Hospital – San Jose
Kathy Thornburg
Director, Center for Family Policy and Research
University of Missouri – Columbia
Laurie Todd
Adjunct Faculty
Pacific Oaks College
Julia Torquati
Associate Professor
University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Arlene Uss
Coordinator, Center for Early Care and Education
Bank Street College of Education
Sal Vascellaro
Graduate Faculty
Bank Street College of Education
Sharryn Larsen Walker
Professor
Stephens College – Columbia MO
Patsy Washington
Lecturer, Department of Early Childhood Education
Towson University – Baltimore
Patricia Waters
Assistant Professor
Towson University – Baltimore

Ocie Watson-Thompson
Associate Professor
Towson University – Baltimore
Bobbie Weber
Professor, Oregon Child Care Research Partnership, Family Policy Program
Oregon State University – Corvallis
Karen Weiss
Graduate Faculty
Bank Street College of Education
Margaret Werner
Director, Elisabeth Amen Nursery School
Wheaton College – Wheaton IL
Donna Weston
Assistant Professor, Family and Child Nursing
University of Washington – Seattle
Edyth Wheeler
Assistant Professor
Towson University – Baltimore
Claire White
Assistant Professor of Child Life
Wheelock College – Boston
Leslie Williams
Professor of Education
Teachers College, Columbia University
Connie Williams
Assistant Professor of Reading
Northeastern State University – Tahlequah
Patricia Willott
Associate Professor of Education
Wheelock College – Boston
G. Patricia Wilson
Assistant Professor
Towson University – Baltimore
Nancy Wiltz
Assistant Professor
Towson University – Baltimore
Olga Winbush
Early Childhood Educator, Human Development Faculty
Pacific Oaks College
Charmane Wong
Vice President
Graham Windham – New York NY
Eric Worch
Assistant Professor and Chair / Department of Education
University of Michigan – Flint
Karen Worth
Senior Scientist
Education Development Center – Boston
Kay Wright
Professor, Children and Family Studies
Eastern Kentucky University – Richmond