READY TO READ
Research Team
Susan Neuman, Project Director
Susan B. Neuman is a Professor of Educational Studies at the University of Michigan, specializing in early literacy development. She received her doctorate at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California in 1977, and her B.A. at American University. Susan is involved in a number of research projects all working to change the odds for children in poverty.
sbneuman@umich.edu
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~sbneuman/
Administrative Staff
Colleen Neilson, Administrative Assistant
Colleen Neilson joined the Ready to Read research program in 2006 as our project administrator. Colleen has worked with faculty at the School of Education for over 12 years managing academic and research-related affairs.
cneilson@umich.edu
Project Supervisors
Sarah Bacheller, UM-Ready to Learn Field Supervisor
smbach@umich.edu
Teresa Hogg, Project Great Start Field Supervisor
Teri Hogg is a field supervisor for the Ready to Read research program, overseeing assessment and data management processes. Teri has served on several early childhood research teams as a research assistant specializing in child and classroom assessment, including the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study and NAEPS.
Prior to her career in applied research, Teri spent 12 years as a teacher for Head Start, and continues to pursue her interests in and commitment to early childhood education.
thogg@umich.edu
Lindsay Sichta, UM-Ready to Learn MSRP Coordinator
Lindsay Sichta coordinates field placement and data collection for the MSRP and University of Michigan Children's Center sites for the UM-Ready to Learn Project. Lindsay will complete her Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education in April, 2008, from the University of Michigan.
In addition she has earned her Bachelor's Degree in Child Development and has over seven years of experience in early childhood classrooms. Lindsay frequently presents trainings at various conferences and workshops across the state and nationally.
lprzes@umich.edu
Debra Simon, UM-Ready to Learn Assessment Coordinator
Debra Simon manages field placement and data collection for the UM-Ready to Learn project. Deb completed her degree in Early Childhood Development and taught preschool for three years before beginning her work in classroom assessment and data management.
debsimon@umich.edu
Research Partners
Linda Cunningham, Research Partner Linda Cunningham received her doctorate in Education at the University of Michigan in 2007. Her areas of interest include professional development in early childhood care and education, program evaluation and policy analysis, and the foundations of education.
She also has a Masters in Social Work and over twelve years experience working with public schools, universities, businesses and community organizations to improve the quality of educational opportunities provided to children and youth from high poverty and socially disadvantaged communities.
lindacc@umich.edu
Robert Carpenter,
Assistant Professor, Eastern Michigan University
phaedrus@umich.edu
Jenny DeMonte, Research Partner
Jenny DeMonte will complete her doctorate in Foundations, Administration,Research, and Policy at the University of Michigan. As an expert in research design and advanced analytic techniques, she provides consultation to the Ready to Learn project. For the past five years, she has worked on The Study of Instructional Improvement (SII), a large-scale research project focusing on efforts to improve schools, and the schools' responses to those efforts.
Her dissertation uses data from SII in a mixed-methods study that explores what type of language arts instruction accelerates reading achievement among disadvantaged fourth graders.
Jeanne Friedel, Research Partner
Jeanne Friedel received her doctorate in Education and Psychology from the University of Michigan in 2006. She served as project manager for the Ready to Read program until January of 2008, and is currently on maternity leave. Her research has focused on the development of achievement motivation across school transitions, as well as family support for motivation in early and middle childhood.
Most recently, she has begun to explore the impact of teacher motivation on outcomes related to continuing education via Project Great Start. In addition, Jeanne has collaborated with colleagues in the study of methodological issues in the assessment of motivation-related outcomes.
jfriedel@umich.edu
Jeanne Friedel CV (jfriedelcv.pdf)
Ellen Hamilton, Research Partner
Ellen Hamilton serves as a postdoctoral fellow for the Ready to Learn research program. Ellen received her doctorate in Developmental Psychology from the University of Michigan in 2007. Her research has focused on understanding early language predictors of later reading ability and disability in English and Mandarin-speaking children.
eehamilt@umich.edu
Scott Paris, Professor
School of Education and the Department of Psychology
Scott G. Paris is a Professor of Education at the School of Education and a Professor of Psychology in the U-M College of Literature, Science and the Arts. His research interests focus on the development of children's learning, motivation, reading, cognitive strategies, and metacognition.
He works with teachers to use student-centered kinds of instruction and assessment to foster students' learning. Professor Paris has twice received the Dean's Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching, as well as the University of Michigan Amoco Foundation Faculty Award for Distinguished Teaching. He has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Combined Program in Education & Psychology since 1979 and Chair of the Psychology Graduate Program since 2001.
Professor Paris received his PhD from Indiana University and has been a Visiting Professor at universities in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
sparis@umich.edu
Additional information: Go to the Scott Paris Website
Research Assistants
Alicia Crowl
Doctoral Candidate, Michigan State University
Alicia Crowl is a fourth year doctoral student in School Psychology at Michigan State University and has worked as a research assistant with the Ready to Read program since 2005. She received her Masters degree at the University of Chicago with a specialization in Developmental Psychology. Her research interests include the developmental, academic, and social outcomes of children with same-sex parents. Alicia is currently investigating the impact of school climate on the mental health and achievement outcomes of children with same-sex parents. For a list of recent publications and presentations, please visit http://www.msu.edu/~crowlali/
crowlali@msu.edu
Caitlin Dougherty, Graduate Student
cdough@umich.edu
Julie Dwyer, Doctoral Candidate
Julie Dwyer is a doctoral candidate at the School of Education, University of Michigan. She earned her Ed.M. from Harvard University, and has certification as a K-12 Reading Specialist. She was an Early Intervention Reading Specialist in Chelmsford, Massachusetts for four years, where she provided direct service to struggling readers in grades K-4. Her research interests include vocabulary development in preschoolers, vocabulary instruction in early childhood education, and language and literacy development between birth and age 8.
dwyerj@umich.edu
Serene Koh, Doctoral Candidate
Serene Koh is a doctoral candidate in Educational Foundations and Policy at the School of Education, University of Michigan. She received her M.A. at the University of Michigan, specializing in Educational Foundations and Policy, and was previously an English teacher in Singapore for four years. Her research interests include the sociology of education, early childhood education and children's development of civic and political literacy.
serenek@umich.edu
Christine Meyer, Graduate Student
Christine Meyer is a doctoral student in the Language, Literacy and Culture program at the School of Education, University of Michigan. She received her M.A. in Early Childhood Education from Eastern Michigan University and her B.S. in Special Education. She was an early childhood special education teacher in Michigan and New York before returning to continue her education. Her research interests include early childhood language and literacy acquisition with a primary focus on children with special needs and children in poverty.
ckmeyer@umich.edu
Sarah Tucker, Doctoral Candidate
Sarah Tucker is a doctoral candidate in Educational Foundations and Policy at the School of Education, University of Michigan. She received her M.A. at the University of Michigan, specializing in Educational Foundations and Policy. Her research interests include rural education policy, the transition from high school to college for rural youth, and sociology of education.
tuckers@umich.edu
Allison Wein, Research Associate
Allison Wein currently teaches kindergarten in the Ann Arbor area, and contributes her expertise in curriculum development to the Ready to Learn program. She received her B.A. from Cornell University in 2004 and earned a Masters in Teaching from Johns Hopkins in 2007. Her research interests include early childhood literacy, specifically in disadvantaged populations.
arwein@umich.edu
Tanya Wright, Graduate Student
Tanya S. Wright is a doctoral student in the Language, Literacy and Culture program at the School of Education, University of Michigan. She received her M.A. as a Reading Specialist from Teachers College, Columbia University and her B.A. from Columbia College, Columbia University. Tanya is a former kindergarten teacher whose interests include early childhood literacy as well as teacher education and teacher professional development in the area of language and literacy.
tsbw@umich.edu
Project Support Staff
Christina E. Mendez is a graduate of the University of Michigan, and received her B.A. in psychology. She is currently a research assistant for the Ready to Read research program. In addition to her interests in early childhood education, Christina is continuing her education in the field of nursing.
cemendez@umich.edu
Ariel Zipkin, Research Technician
azipkin@umich.edu
