Author Biography
Patricia W. Wesley, M.Ed., is Senior Scientist at the FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she is also Clinical Instructor in the School of Education. Following a decade as the director of an inclusive preschool, in 1990 she became the director of Partnerships for Inclusion, a statewide training and consultation project supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities and their families in all aspects of community life. In this role, she has developed, implemented, evaluated, and published an on-site model of consultation to enhance quality in early childhood programs. She also has developed several community approaches for building broad-based acceptance of people with disabilities. In addition to early childhood inclusion and consultation, Ms. Wesley's interests include parent leadership and communities of practice in early childhood education. She is a frequent guest reviewer for several professional journals and a popular keynote speaker on the state and national lecture circuit. Dr. Buysse is Senior Scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to directing a program of research on Recognition & Response, a model of response to intervention for prekindergarten, her research interests include innovations in professional development; models such as consultation, coaching, mentoring, and communities of practice that support professional development and program improvement; and educational practices and interventions that address the unique needs of diverse learners those who have disabilities, who have learning difficulties, or who are dual language learners. Margaret Burchinal, Ph.D., Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, FPG Child Development Institute, CB 8185, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599. Dr. Burchinal is a senior scientist at the FPG Child Development Institute. She has served as the primary statistician for many child care studies, including the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development study of early child care and youth development; the Abecedarian Project; the National Center for Early Development and Learning 11-state prekindergarten evaluation; and the Cost, Quality, & Outcomes Study. Dr. Peisner-Feinberg is Senior Scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her background is in developmental psychology and public policy, and she has more than 20 years of research experience in early childhood education and program evaluation. Dr. Peisner-Feinberg has conducted numerous statewide and national research studies focused on the quality of early education programs and initiatives; the effects on children, especially dual language learners and children at risk; and quality improvement strategies. Beth S. Rous is faculty in the Department of Educational Leadership Studies, College of Education, and Director of the Kentucky Partnership for Early Childhood Services at Interdisciplinary Human Development Institute, University of Kentucky, Lexington. She began her career as a teacher, where she worked in public and private child care and taught at the preschool, elementary, and middle-school levels. Her research has involved a variety of topics in early childhood education and early childhood special education, including transition, standards and accountability, professional development systems, and program quality. She has published numerous articles, technical and training manuals, and book chapters. For almost 20 years, Dr. Rous provided training and technical assistance through a number of federally funded demonstration, outreach, and research projects. She served as Principal Investigator for the National Early Childhood Transition Center, and Co-PI for CONNECT: Center to Mobilize Early Childhood Knowledge. She has served in leadership roles in mult
