More Mirrors in the Classroom: Using Urban Children?s Literature to Increase Literacy

Jane Fleming is a reading specialist with more than 20 years’ experience working in urban public schools in Chicago, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. She is co-founder of KIDS LIKE US, a nonprofit organization dedicated to research, professional development, and advocacy around teaching with culturally relevant texts.

Susan Catapano is Professor and International Coordinator in the Watson College of Education at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington. She has a doctorate in higher education with concentrations in adult learning and early childhood education.

Candace Thompson is an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington, North Carolina. Her research interests include culturally sustaining applied learning in teacher preparation, and youth empowerment.

Sandy Ruvalcaba Carrillo is a resource teacher of English learners in a school on the Southwest side of Chicago with 17 years of experience in education. She earned her undergraduate degree in bilingual/bicultural education from Western Illinois and completed a graduate degree in early childhood education at Erikson Institute.