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One of the nation's leading experts on effective curriculum and assessment practices for young children from poverty-impacted and diverse backgrounds will speak at the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ on Oct. 23.

Linda Espinosa, co-primary investigator for the current project "Getting on Track for Early School Success: Effective Teaching in Preschool Classrooms" and a former co-director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University, will speak at 7 p.m. in 220. Her lecture, "Designing Effective Instruction for Young Children from Diverse Backgrounds: What Works and Why," is sponsored by the at UW and will be followed by a book signing. The event is free and open to the public.

In her lecture, Espinosa will discuss the learning and achievement patterns of young children who are growing up in poverty and those who speak a language other than English at home. She will then present a framework for understanding the unique features of development of young dual language learners and conclude with a set of recommended instructional and assessment practices for programs serving young children from diverse backgrounds.

Espinosa has worked extensively with low-income Hispanic/Latino children and families throughout the state of California as a school administrator and program director in San Francisco, San Jose and Redwood City, where she developed and directed the nationally recognized Family Focus for School Success program. Her latest book, Getting it RIGHT for young children from diverse backgrounds: Applying research to improve practice, was recently published by Pearson/Merrill. She has published more than 95 research articles, book chapters and training manuals on how to establish effective educational services for low-income, minority families and children who are acquiring English as a second language.

Espinosa is a former vice president of education at Bright Horizons Family Solutions and professor emeritus of early childhood education at the University of Missouri, Columbia. She was recently appointed to the New York City Universal PreK Scientific Advisory Council and has served on the Head Start National Reporting System (NRS) Technical Advisory Group and was a member of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Head Start Research and Evaluation.

Espinosa earned her bachelor's degree at UW.

Contact

Dustin Wunderlich, Director for Marketing and Communications

206-543-1035, dwunder@uw.edu