Sharolyn Pollard-Durodola - Accelerating Language Skills and Content Knowledge Through Shared Book Reading

Sharolyn D. Pollard-Durodola, Ed.D., Morgridge Endowed Associate Professor in Literacy, Child, Family, and School Psychology, Morgridge College of Education, University of Denver, Katherine A. Ruffato Hall 255, Denver, Colorado 80208.

Dr. Pollard-Durodola is an associate professor in the Child, Family, and School Psychology program at the University of Denver. Her scholarship attends to the prevention and intervention of language and literacy difficulties (Spanish and English) among students with identified disabilities or who are at risk of later academic difficulties. Central to her scholarship is an interest in developing intervention curricula that build on validated instructional design principles, evaluating their impact on the language and reading development of struggling readers (Spanish and English), and investigating how to improve the quality of language and literacy practices of teachers and parents of young English language learners (ELLs) and non-ELLs who are at risk for reading difficulties. She is specifically interested in bridging research and practice by examining the feasibility and usability of research-based practices in high-poverty classroom settings. She has received grants from the Institute of Education Sciences and the Mexican-American and U.S. Latino Research Center and published in peer-reviewed journals such as Exceptional Children, Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, The Elementary School Journal, Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, and Bilingual Research Journal. Prior to joining the University of Denver, Dr. Pollard-Durodola served as Associate Professor of the Bilingual Education Program in the Department of Educational Psychology at Texas A&M University and as Assistant Professor at the University of TexasHouston Health Science Center (The Center for Academic and Reading Skills). Her undergraduate studies were in romance languages (Spanish and Portuguese) at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She has two masters degrees: a master of arts in teaching Spanish from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City and a master of science in developmental and remedial reading from City University of New York. Her doctorate is in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on second-language acquisition and bilingual education. She has 14 years of experience in public school settings as a school administrator, reading specialist, and teacher. Her favorite activities are visiting fine arts museums, both nationally and internationally, and photographytaking pictures of lighthouses on the coast of Michigan.

Jorge E. Gonzalez, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education and Human Development, School Psychology MS 4225, College Station, Texas 77843.

Dr. Gonzalez is an associate professor in the School Psychology program, Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, his work focuses on the causes and correlates of early language and literacy difficulties in young children with a focus on adultchild interactive reading in the context of dual-language learners. His scholarship addresses inquiries relevant to childrens home literacy environments (HLEs), the effects of teacher talk around shared reading, longitudinal effects of evidence-based shared reading interventions, and investigating the heterogeneous nature language and literacy subtypes of at-risk children. His publications represent an array of journals with a focus on child development, including Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Bilingual Research Journal, Journal of Educational Effectiveness, Early Education and Development, Journal of Special Education, Journal of Learning Disabilities, Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, and Journal of Early Intervention. He has previously been the lead investigator on an Early Reading First (ERF) project titled Accelerating Childrens Early Literacy and Language (ACELL), an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) development grant titled Words of Oral Reading and Language Development (WORLD), and a follow-up IES efficacy grant of the same name. In his spare time, Jorge enjoys hiking the Texas trails, exploring international cuisines, and spending time on the beaches of Mexico.

Deborah C. Simmons, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education and Human Development, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843.

Dr. Simmons is a professor of educational psychology in the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University. Her professional career began as a speech-language specialist in public schools in Tennessee, where she experienced the importance of vocabulary and language development among the children she taught. Following her career in public schools, she earned her doctorate in reading and served on the faculties of Bowling Green State University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Oregon. Since joining the faculty at Texas A&M University in 2004, she has directed or codirected research grants from the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, that have developed and evaluated interventions to improve language and literacy outcomes for students with or at risk of academic difficulties. She is a standing panel reviewer for the Institute of Education Sciences. She was recognized by the American Educational Research Association and American Psychological Association with awards for outstanding articles in their journals. She was the recipient of the Jeanette Fleischner Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Learning Disabilities from the Division for Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children and the Faculty Mentoring Award in the College of Education and Human Development. Her current research focuses on prevention of and intervention in reading difficulties from kindergarten to high school and strategies to enhance reading programs and accelerate achievement for struggling readers. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking in the mountains of Oregon and Colorado and spending time with family and her granddogs.