Toni Sturdivant Author & Editor

Volume editors:

Iliana Alanís, PhD, a native of South Texas, is professor of early childhood and elementary education in the department of interdisciplinary learning and teaching at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She has more than 20 years in the early childhood field

·         Work focuses on teaching practices in culturally and linguistically diverse early childhood contexts with an emphasis on the effect of schooling for language minority children in Spanish/English dual language programs. She is especially interested in forms of teaching that promote native language development and its correlation to second language acquisition.

·         Author of more than 48 refereed publications related to dual language education. Recent research focuses on higher‑order cognitive and linguistic interaction found in student–student exchanges.

·         Former president of the Texas Association for Bilingual Education and former board member for the National Latino Children’s Institute. She has served as a NAEYC Governing Board member and an Early Childhood Advisory Board member for Scholastic Education.

·         Member of the Dual Language Training Institute, facilitating professional development for teachers in dual language classrooms across the country.

·         Coauthor of The Essentials: Supporting Dual Language Learners in Diverse Environments in Preschool and Kindergarten (NAEYC, 2021).

Toni Sturdivant, PhD, is an assistant professor in the department of curriculum and instruction at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

·         PhD in Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching with a cognate in Early Childhood Education; master’s degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education with a specialization in Child Development, BA in Linguistics with a minor in African and African American studies.

·         Has taught prekindergarten in an urban school district and a center-based setting as well as kindergarten. Served as a trainer for early childhood teachers. Currently teaches pre-service teachers in the College of Education and Human Services.

·         Research focuses on issues of racial learning and racial identity with young children as well as culturally relevant teaching practices. Has been published in Early Childhood Education Journal, The Journal for Multicultural Education, the International Journal of Early Childhood, and other scholarly journals.

Series editor

Susan Friedman is senior director of publishing and content development at NAEYC. In this role, she leads the content development work of NAEYC’s books and periodicals teams.

·         Coeditor of Each and Every Child: Teaching Preschool with an Equity Lens.

·         Extensive prior experience creating content on play, developmentally appropriate uses of media, and other topics for educators and families.

·         Began her career as a preschool teacher at City and Country School in New York City. She holds degrees from Vassar College and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.