Jeanne R. Paratore, EdD, is Associate Professor of Education at Boston University, where she teaches courses in literacy, language, and cultural studies. From 1989 to 1997 she was an integral member of the Boston University/Chelsea, Massachusetts, Public School Partnership, a comprehensive urban school reform effort, in which she focused her efforts on improving classroom literacy instruction and building strong home-school partnerships. She was a core advisor to Teaching Reading, K-2, A Video Library of Effective Classroom Practices, a project funded by the Annenberg Foundation and produced by WGBH television. At present, Dr. Paratore works with school-based literacy leaders in Lowell, Massachusetts, to support effective instruction in classrooms throughout the city. She has written articles and book chapters about family literacy, classroom grouping practices, and classroom assessment.

Rachel L. McCormack, EdD, is Assistant Professor of Education at Roger Williams University, Bristol, Rhode Island, where she teaches courses in literacy education and children's literature. As a classroom teacher, she taught first, second, and fifth grades, and she served as a school-based reading specialist. Her research interests include classroom discourse and the effects of peer-led discussion on children's comprehension and learning, and the effects of professional development on school-wide change in literacy instruction.