Ladders to Literacy

Rollanda E. O'Connor, Ph.D., is a reading specialist and an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh and has a doctoral degree in special education from the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. O'Connor taught reading in special and general education classrooms for 16 years, directed an in-service consortium for general and special educators on strategies for educating children with disabilities in general education classes, and conducted research to develop literacy skills for young children with disabilities. Dr. O'Connor's research has focused on two themes: the feasibility and effectiveness of incorporating phonological awareness instruction into programs for children at risk for reading difficulties in general education classes and factors that influence accessibility of reading instruction. She has taught teachers to use activities designed to improve the reading development of their children during large- and small-group instruction. The factors identified in these studies have been incorporated in the activities in Ladders to Literacy. Angela Notari Syverson, Ph.D., is Senior Researcher at the Washington Research Institute in Seattle. Her work focuses on early literacy and language assessment and intervention. She has authored books and journal publications in these areas and is co-author of Ladders to Literacy: A Preschool Activity Book (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1998), an early literacy curriculum developed for use in inclusive education environments. Dr. Notari Syverson's educational background includes degrees in psychology and communication disorders from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and a doctorate in early childhood special education from the University of Oregon in Eugene. Her professional experience involves working with children who have a variety of communication disorders and developmental delays and their families both in the United States of America and in Switzerland. She has directed federal research, demonstration, and training projects in the area of early language and literacy at the Washington Research Institute and the University of Washington, Seattle. Dr. Notari-Syverson's current research interests are adult-child interactions, assessment, and intervention in multicultural and multilinguistic contexts. She has lived and worked in different countries and is fluent in three languages. Patricia Vadasy, Ph.D., is Senior Researcher at Washington Research Institute in Seattle, Washington, where she conducts research on early reading instruction. She is most interested in research that may help children at risk for reading disabilities and children who are English language learners. Patricia and her colleagues have developed programs that paraeducator tutors can effectively use to supplement reading instruction for beginning readers.