Susan B. Neuman, PhD, is Professor of Educational Studies at the University of Michigan and Director of the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Ability (CIERA). In 2001, she was appointed Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. Her interests include beginning reading and writing, family literacy, and parent involvement. Formerly, she was a Professor at Temple University for 10 years, where she coordinated the Reading and Language Arts Program. She has published over 100 journal articles and several books.

David K. Dickinson, PhD, is a Senior Research Scientist at the Education Development Center (EDC) in Newton, Massachusetts. Previously, he was an elementary school teacher for 5 years. He then served as Director of Teacher Education at the Child Study Department at Tufts University and the Education Department at Clark University. He moved to EDC to direct the New England Research Center on Head Start Quality, and has been working since 1994 on developing and studying an approach to helping preschool teachers more effectively support children's language and literacy. Coauthor or editor of several books, Dr. Dickinson has reported his research in over 50 articles and chapters.