Quality Measurement in Early Childhood Settings

Dr. Castro has 25 years of experience conducting early childhood research, intervention, and program evaluation in the United States and Latin America. She serves as Director of the Center for Early Care and Education Research: Dual Language Learners, funded by the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Castro's research focuses on the early care and education of young children who are dual language learners and on children from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, with an emphasis on those living in poverty. She currently serves as Principal Investigator on the study Nuestros Ninos Program: Promoting School Readiness for English Language Learners, funded by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). She also directs a study of child care utilization patterns for Latino families funded by the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Castro's previous work includes a national study of early childhood programsa (TM) policies and practices to address the needs of Latino children and their families, an intervention study to promote early language and literacy among Latino Spanish-speaking children, the development and evaluation of a professional development program on cultural and linguistic diversity for early childhood professionals (New Voices ~ Nuevas Voces), and the evaluation of an Early Head Start initiative to support infants and toddlers who are dual language learners. She also has conducted studies of language and literacy development in young children, factors affecting the well-being of Latino immigrant families, and family involvement in Head Start. Dr. Castro has published numerous articles, book chapters, and reports and presents nationally and internationally as an expert on the early care and education of children who are culturally and linguistically diverse. She is originally from Peru and has lived in the United States since 1991. Jason T. Downer, Ph.D., is a senior research scientist at the University of Virginia's Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning in Charlottesville. He is a clinical-community psychologist whose work focuses on the identification and understanding of contextual and relational contributors to young at-risk children's early achievement and social competence. Specifically, Dr. Downer is interested in the role of fathers in children's early learning, as well as the development of observational methods to capture valid, reliable estimates of teacher-child interactions in prekindergarten through elementary classrooms. Dr. Downer also has a keen interest in translating research-to-practice through school-based, classroom-focused interventions. Linda Espinosa, Ph.D., has had experience as a preschool teacher, child care center director, elementary school principal, central office administrator, State program director, and corporate Vice President of Education. Her practical experience and research interests focus on the design and evaluation of optimal learning environments for young children who are at risk for school failure. Dr. Espinosa has worked extensively with low-income Hispanic/Latino children and families throughout the state of California. She completed her B.A. at the University of Washington, her Ed.M. at Harvard University and her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at the University of Chicago. Ellen C. Frede, Ph.D., Senior Vice President for Early Learning, Research, and Training, Acelero Learning, Inc., 63 West 125th Street, 6th Floor, New York, New York 10027. Until recently, Dr. Frede served as Co-director at the National Institute for Early Education Research. She is a developmental psychologist who specializes in research to inform policy and practice and helped design and administer New Jersey's successful Abbott Preschool Program. Herbert P. Ginsburg, the Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Psychology and Education at Teachers College