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Grow a Love of Language and Learning!

About the Authors

Catherine Snow, Ph.D., Senior Author

Catherine Snow, Ph.D., is the Patricia Albjerg Graham Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is an expert on children’s language and literacy development, focusing on how oral language skills are acquired and how they relate to literacy outcomes. Snow has collaborated on three major longitudinal studies of language and literacy skills among low-income children, one of which focused primarily on how low-income bilingual learners transfer these skills from first to second language. She is currently leading the Strategic Education Research Partnership field site in the Boston Public Schools.

Robert L. Selman, Ph.D., Senior Author

Robert L. Selman, Ph.D., is the Roy Edward Larsen Professor of Education and Human Development at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. His practice-based research on children’s social and ethical development focuses on diversity issues for elementary students, school-based support and prevention programs for middle school students, and curricula for high school students. Selman’s publications include The Promotion of Social Awareness: Powerful Lessons from the Partnership of Developmental Theory and Classroom Practice (2003).

Patrick C. Walker, Ph.D., Senior Author

Patrick C. Walker, Ph.D., helped develop a neighborhood-wide drug and violence prevention coalition in Boston that spurred the development of Voices of Love and Freedom, a K–12 multicultural literature and character education program. Armed with research on effective, culturally appropriate prevention programs, Walker proposed a far-reaching solution: a school-based program that uses multicultural literature to promote literacy, character development, and drug and violence prevention. This work served as the foundation for Voices Reading.

Maria Carlo, Ph.D., Consulting Author

Maria Carlo, Ph.D., ELL Specialist, is currently an Associate Professor of Teaching and Learning in the School of Education at the University of Miami. An expert in the area of English-language learning and bilingualism, Carlo has authored several articles on reading development, vocabulary instruction, and the cross-language transfer of academic skills.

Terri Purcell, Ph.D., Consulting Author

Terri Purcell, Ph.D., Early Literacy Development Specialist, is Associate Professor in Literacy Education and Director of the Early Reading First Program at Cleveland State University. As a teacher, reading specialist, intervention specialist, Field Faculty for Reading First-Ohio Center, and educational consultant, Dr. Purcell has worked to enhance the quality of language and literacy instruction for young children over the course of her career.

Cynthia Tyson, Ph.D., Consulting Author

Cynthia Tyson, Ph.D., Multicultural Literature, Social Studies, and Urban Education Specialist, is an Associate Professor in the School of Teaching and Learning at The Ohio State University. Her research interests include teaching for social justice, early childhood social studies, and multicultural children’s literature. Tyson, an experienced teacher and consultant, has taught multicultural education and staff development and has consulted with school districts in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Africa.

William E. Cross Jr., Ph.D., Consultant

William E. Cross Jr., Ph.D., is Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he specializes in cultural identity theory and multicultural expressions in everyday life. Author of Shades of Black: Diversity in African American Identity (1991), Cross’s recent publications trace cultural identity development across the life span.