Louis Torelli is the founder and director of Spaces for Children (SFC), a company specializing in classroom and facility design for early childhood programs. SFC also provides on-site training and workshops on designing group care environments.
Torelli has designed hundreds of classrooms and childcare facilities, both nationally and internationally. He is the co-author of Educating and Caring for Very Young Children: The Infant/Toddler Curriculum, published by Teachers College Press, and many articles on classroom and facility design.
Alicia Tuesta has worked in the field of early childhood education since 1982. She currently serves as Senior Program Associate for WestEd's Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC).
As former Director of PITC Training, Tuesta led a wide range of events of national and international reach to support the efforts of educators, program leaders, and care teachers to develop and implement infant/toddler program policies that assure high quality standards of care. In addition, she managed the development of PITC materials in Spanish.
The second edition offers program directors, teachers, and providers of child care programs expanded information on working with families of infant/toddlers from diverse backgrounds and cultures. It provides strategies to ease family concerns about using out-of-home care and to address their feelings about leaving their young children with others. Five appendixes, including sample forms, help to make this guide useful for addressing the many elements of engaging families in high-quality child care programs.
The second edition offers program directors, teachers, and providers of child care programs expanded information on working with families of infant/toddlers from diverse backgrounds and cultures. It provides strategies to ease family concerns about using out-of-home care and to address their feelings about leaving their young children with others. Five appendixes, including sample forms, help to make this guide useful for addressing the many elements of engaging families in high-quality child care programs.
Judy Walker is a Regional Coordinator with WestEd's Program for Infant/Toddler Care in Region III, Sacramento area.
She has worked in the early childhood field since 1979, holding a variety of positions: Nationally Accredited Family Child Care Provider, Master Teacher, Child Development Director, Mentor Teacher; Adjunct Faculty, and Sacramento First 5, Touchpoints Trainer.
As a Senior Research Associate with WestEd, Ann-Marie Wiese focuses on issues related to the education of young dual language learners.
Cheryl Williams-Jackson is a full-time professor and the program coordinator in the Human Services Department at Modesto Junior College in Modesto, California. She has taught and worked with infants and toddlers since 1996.