Authorship Team

Dr. Douglas Fisher

Professor of Language and Literacy Education at San Diego State University, teacher leader at Health Sciences school, prolific writer, master teacher, and respected professional development expert, he has written numerous articles, books, and book chapters on the topics of literacy, school reform, and inclusive education. He served on the board of directors for the Literacy Research Association and the International Literacy Association. Doug has conducted extensive research on reading and has been published in a number of journals, including Educational Leadership, The Reading Teacher, and Literacy Research and Instruction. Recent books include: “Text Complexity: Raising Rigor in Reading”, “Rigorous Reading” and “Unstoppable Learning.”

Dr. Timothy Shanahan

Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he was Founding Director of the Center for Literacy, and Chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Previously he was Director of Reading for the Chicago Public Schools, and is past president of the International Literacy Association. He helped write the Common Core State Standards. Dr. Shanahan’s research emphasizes reading-writing relationships, reading assessment, and improving reading achievement. He has authored or edited more than 200 publications including the books: Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners, Teachers Thinking-Teachers Knowing, Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Literacy, Reading and Writing Together, and Understanding Research in Reading and Writing.

Dr. Jana Echevarria

Professor Emerita in the College of Education at California State University Long Beach, her research and publications focus on effective instruction for English learners, including those with learning disabilities. With more than 50 books, book chapters, and journal articles in publication, including the popular SIOP book series, she has presented her research across the U.S. and internationally. Dr. Echevarria also has teaching experience in elementary, middle, and high school in general education, special education, ESL, and bilingual programs.

Dr. Donald Bear

Professor in literacy education and Director of the Dufflemeyer Reading Clinic at Iowa State University and Professor Emeritus at University of Nevada, Reno. His research focuses on literacy learning, particularly phonics, vocabulary and spelling, and studies of orthographic development in second languages. He has authored and co-authored works including Words Their Way (6th Edition), Words Their Way for PreK–K Learners, Words Their Way With English Learners, Vocabulary Their Way, and Words Their Way With Struggling Readers for Grades 4–12.

Dr. Vicki Gibson

Dr. Gibson is the CEO of Gibson Hasbrouck and Associates, an educational consulting firm that provides professional development products and trainings that enhance the quality of instruction and improve student achievement. Dr. Gibson taught in regular and special education classrooms in public schools for 10 years before opening and directing three private schools that serve children ages 2-12 years. She is an author for McGraw Hill's reading programs, Treasures and Wonders as well as a national speaker and trainer. Dr. Gibson’s areas of specialization include classroom management, effective instructional practices that produce sustained student gains, language and literacy development, and early childhood curriculum design and methodology. Publications include Differentiated Instruction: Grouping for Success, Differentiating Instruction: Guidelines for Implementation, Differentiating Teaching and Practice in Middle and High Schools, Managing Behaviors to Support Differentiating Instruction, the We Can Early Learning Curriculum, Classroom Management for Young Children, and Parenting Responsible Children.

Dr. Jan Hasbrouck

Dr. Jan Hasbrouck is an educational consultant, author, and researcher. She served as Executive Consultant to the Washington State Reading Initiative and as an advisor to the Texas Reading Initiative. Dr. Hasbrouck worked as a reading specialist and literacy coach for 15 years before teaching at the University of Oregon and later working as a professor at Texas A&M University. Dr. Hasbrouck has provided educational consulting to individual schools across the United States as well as in Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, and Germany, helping teachers, specialists, and administrators design and implement effective assessment and instructional programs targeted to help low-performing readers.

Dr. Hasbrouck earned her B.A. and M.A. from the University of Oregon, and completed her Ph.D. at Texas A&M. Her research in areas of reading fluency, reading assessment, coaching, and second language learners has been published in numerous professional books and journals. She is the author and coauthor of several books including “The Reading Coach: A How-to Manual for Success”, “Differentiated Instruction: Grouping for Success”, “RTI for Educational Leaders”, “Reading Fluency” and several assessment tools. Dr. Hasbrouck works with the McGraw Hill publishers as an author of their “Treasures” and “Wonders” reading and intervention programs. In 2008, she and her colleague, Dr. Vicki Gibson partnered to form Gibson Hasbrouck & Associates, with the mission to provide high quality professional development to educators nationally and internationally.

Kathy Bumgardner

Founder and national literacy consultant with Strategies Unlimited,Inc., and creator of Think Clouds and other interactive and collaborative literacy tools in her “Literacy Tool Kit”. Kathy is a veteran educator of 30 plus years and currently coaches and works with schools, teachers, students, and administrators across the country in collaborative efforts to set goals and consistently raise quality cognitive opportunities for raising overall student achievement. Her philosophy for effective and relevant professional development is founded upon the reality that if participants can be strategically interactively engaged and empowered with quality professional development, they will then be able to adapt and better sustain and implement the valuable instructional best practices needed to prepare all students to be college and career ready.

Dr. Nancy Marchand-Martella

Professor of special education, teaching classes in academic remediation with a focus on reading, writing, spelling, and mathematics interventions, she has more than 30 years of experience working with at-risk populations, and more than 180 professional publications credited to her name. She is the author of Multiple Meaning Vocabulary and an SRA/McGraw Hill author of Lesson Connections and Core Lesson Connections for Reading Mastery Signature Edition and adolescent literacy program Read to Achieve. She is co-author of the digital, print, and project-based SRA FLEX Literacy.

Dr. Ronald Martella

Professor of special education, teaching classes in behavior management and research methodology, he is a board-certified behavior analyst, School Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) coach, and Leadership Team member for the state of Washington. He also provides technical assistance to numerous states and districts on SWPBS/behavior management for students with or without disabilities. Dr. Martella has more than 170 professional publications and is an SRA/McGraw Hill author of Lesson Connections and Core Lesson Connections for Reading Mastery Signature Edition and adolescent literacy program Read to Achieve. He is co-author of the digital, print, and project-based SRA FLEX Literacy.