Robert Pianta, Ph.D. is the Dean of the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, as well as the Novartis US Foundation Professor of Education and a Professor in the Department of Psychology. He also directs the University of Virginia Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning. Pianta’s research and policy interests are in research on classroom settings, their contributions to child outcomes in preschool and the early school years, and how to improve teaching and learning in classrooms.

Margaret Burchinal, Ph.D. is the Director of the Design and Statistical Computing Unit at the FPG Child Development Institute and is a Research Professor in the Psychology. She has pursued her substantive interest in early education as a means to improve school readiness for at-risk children, and is a leading contributor to this literature.

Jason Downer, Ph.D. is a clinical-community psychologist who coordinates and provides scientific oversight for certain elements of the Center’s Professional Development Study. His primary research interests lie in the identification of classroom and family processes that serve as valuable resources to children as they develop the self-regulatory abilities and basic academic skills necessary to adjust and succeed in increasingly structured and demanding classroom environments. More about Dr. Downer.

Bridget Hamre, Ph.D. is currently a Co-PI on the National Center for Research in Early Childhood Education and is leading the implementation of the major research component of the center. This work includes responsibility for research design, development of measure protocols, supervision of research and intervention staff, recruitment of participants, oversight of data collection, and dissemination of results through peer-reviewed papers and conference presentations.

Carollee Howes, Ph.D. is a Professor at the University of California at Los Angeles. Dr. Howes is interested in very young children’s development of interpersonal relationships. She studies peer interaction, particularly friendships and social pretend play in toddler and preschool age children. She also studies attachment relationships between children and their adult caregivers, mothers and other-than-mothers.

Karen M. La Paro, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. She teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses in the birth-kindergarten teacher preparation program. Her research interests include classroom quality and professional development. One of her major areas of research is examining teacher beliefs and practices of pre-service teachers as they progress through their educational program.

Andrew J. Mashburn, Ph.D. is a member of the NCRECE secondary data analysis team conducting studies of classroom quality and children’s development. His research interests include understanding and improving the effectiveness of pre-k programs. More about Dr. Mashburn.

Catherine Scott-Little, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at UNC-Greensboro, where she teaches in the Birth Through Kindergarten teacher preparation program. Dr. Scott-Little’s research interests include issues related to teacher preparation, early learning standards and early childhood assessments.

Amanda Williford, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning at the University of Virginia and is a licensed clinical psychologist. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her clinical and research interests center on developmental trajectories of children’s disruptive behaviors and comprehensive preventative and early intervention treatments to promote children’s school readiness across social-emotional and academic domains.

Jill Haak, M.Ed, is a research assistant for the National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education primarily working on data management. Jill is a doctoral student in Clinical and School Psychology at the University of Virginia. Her specific research interests include behavioral and academic outcomes related to home pre-literacy, and promoting positive social and emotional development in early childhood through teacher and parent training.

Marcia Kraft-Sayre, LCSW, is a Research Scientist at UVA’s Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning, and the Study Coordinator for the NCRECE Professional Development Study.

Jennifer LoCasale-Crouch, Ph.D., is a research scientist at the University of Virginia in the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning. Her research focuses on understanding and systematically enriching teacher development as an avenue to support at-risk children during early childhood.

Tammy Mintz is a research assistant for the National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Clinical-School Psychology at the University of Virginia, where she is interested in studying family processes that contribute to children’s success in school.

Terri Walters is a research assistant for National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education, working primarily on data management. She is currently in the Risk and Prevention in Education Sciences PhD program at the University of Virginia. Before attending UVA, she was a first grade teacher. More about Ms. Walters.

Wanda Weaver, MEd is the Coordinator for the Child Assessment component of the National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education Professional Development Study.

Elise Rubinstein is a research assistant at the National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education.  Elise helped to coordinate data collection for the final phase of the Professional Development Study and now manages the Professional Development Study datasets.