The Creative Curriculum® for Kindergarten Seeds Study Mini-Kit

Kai-leé Berke

Kai-leé Berke is the CEO of Teaching Strategies, the leading provider of early childhood solutions for programs serving children from birth through third grade. She is a lifelong early childhood educator, having taught and cared for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners in public, private, and Department of Defense programs.

Prior to her appointment as CEO, she held roles as Teaching Strategies’ Vice President of Curriculum and Assessment, Chief Product Officer and Chief Academic Officer, during which time she co-authored many of Teaching Strategies’ most impactful solutions, including the GOLD® assessment system, The Creative Curriculum® for Preschool, The Creative Curriculum® for Infants, Toddlers & Twos, and The Creative Curriculum® for Kindergarten (in press).

Heather Baker

Heather Baker, MLS, has cared for infants and toddlers, and worked with preschool-aged children doing project-based investigations. As a Teaching Strategies consultant and staff member, Heather has co-authored publications, such as Come Cook With Me and the Get Fit! Kit, and also helped develop The Creative Curriculum^® for Preschool, Teaching Strategies GOLD^® online, and numerous professional development sessions.

Erin Seagraves

Erin Seagraves, MS, has been a preschool teacher in a variety of programs including Head Start and has served as a center director. Prior to joining Teaching Strategies, Erin worked in early intervention, supporting families of infants, toddlers, and twos who had concerns about their child’s development through their Early Intervention process. Now at Teaching Strategies, Erin creates materials that support teachers, coaches, and administrators, most recently co-authoring Coaching to Fidelity, Infant, Toddlers & Twos Edition.

Tracey Perkins

Tracey Perkins, MEd, is a Content Development Associate at Teaching Strategies. She has taught and cared for children from birth to fifth grade. Prior to joining Teaching Strategies, Tracey worked in Early Head Start programs and Title 1 public schools as a lead and gifted strand teacher. Now at Teaching Strategies, Tracey creates materials that support teachers, coaches, and administrators, most recently co-authoring The Creative Curriculum® for Kindergarten and updating the newest edition of The Creative Curriculum® for Family Child Care.

Clarissa Martinez

Clarissa G Martínez is a Content Development Associate at Teaching Strategies, where she creates materials and professional development to support teachers, coaches and administrators. Prior to joining Teaching Strategies, Clarissa worked as an administrator and trainer at a Migrant/Seasonal Head Start program, and was a bilingual/English as a Second Language teacher in Texas. She recently co-authored Coaching to Fidelity, Preschool Edition, and is a frequent presenter at early childhood workshops and conferences.

Diane C. Burts

Diane C. Burts, EdD, is a former preschool, Head Start, kindergarten, and university teacher, as well as professor emeritus of human ecology at Louisiana State University. She is former director of the LSU Preschool Laboratory, Grace Drews Lehmann professor, and division head of family, child, and consumer sciences. She was the endowed chair and director of the Emma Eccles Jones Center for Early Childhood Education at Utah State University. Dr. Burts is co-editor of the book Integrated Curriculum and Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Birth to Age Eight.

Cate Heroman

Cate Heroman, MEd, has worked in the field of education for over 35 years. She has been a preschool and kindergarten teacher as well as an administrator at the Louisiana Department of Education, providing leadership, training, technical assistance, and support in the areas of early childhood and elementary education. She is a co-author of many Teaching Strategies resources, including the Teaching Strategies GOLD^® assessment system; The Creative Curriculum^® for Preschool; The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum Assessment Toolkit for Ages 3–5; Helping Children Rebound: Strategies for Preschool Teachers After the 2005 Hurricanes; Building Your Baby’s Brain; Literacy: The Creative Curriculum Approach, and numerous others.

Toni Bickart
Toni Bickart, MS, is co-author of Teaching Strategies' newest products: The Creative Curriculum^® for Preschool and the Teaching Strategies GOLD^® assessment system. She is also a co-author of Building the Primary Classroom; Math Right From the Start; Reading Right From the Start; and What Every Parent Needs to Know About 1st, 2nd & 3rd Grades. During more than 18 years at Teaching Strategies, she has been responsible for product development and production and provided professional development services, keynote speeches, and workshops at schools around the country.

Patton O. Tabors
Patton O. Tabors, EdD, retired in 2005 as Principal Research Associate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has directed research and published numerous articles and several books for academic and practitioner audiences, including One Child, Two Languages: A Guide for Early Childhood Educators of Children Learning English as a Second Language and Beginning Literacy with Language: Young Children Learning at Home and School (co-edited with David Dickinson).

Steve Sanders
Steve Sanders is a Professor and Director of the School of Physical Education & Exercise Science at the University of South Florida. Throughout his career, he has promoted the idea of being physically active for life. He has also written many papers and several books about movement programs for young children. In 2005, the National Association for Sport and Physical Education presented Dr. Sanders with its Distinguished Service Award.