Let’s Talk! Preschool Suspensions: This is What We Know

Rosemarie Allen

School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver

Rosemarie Allen has served as a leader in early childhood education for nearly 40 years. Her life's work is centered on ensuring children have access to high quality early childhood programs that are developmentally and culturally appropriate. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her classes are focused on ensuring teachers are aware of how issues of equity, privilege, and power impact teaching practices. She is also the President & CEO for the Institute for Racial Equity & Excellence. In 2012, Dr. Allen was appointed a Global Leader for Young Children by the World Forum on Early Care and Education. She collaborates with professionals and advocates from more than 80 countries who meet to share inspiration and information on issues impacting children and families worldwide. Rosemarie earned her B. A. from California State University, M.Ed from Lesley University and EdD in Equity and Leadership in Education at the University of Colorado, Denver.

Kent McIntosh, PhD

Kent McIntosh, PhD, is a Professor at the University of Oregon’s College of Education. His current research focuses on implementation and sustainability of school-based interventions, reducing discipline disparities, and integrated academic and behavior support. He is lead author of over 60 publications and principal or co-investigator of over $20 million in federal grant funding. He is Co-Investigator on the OSEP National Technical Assistance Center on PBIS and lead of the Center’s Disproportionality Workgroup. He has also worked as a school psychologist, teacher trainer, and teacher in both general and special education.

Dr. Hakim M. Rashid

Dr. Hakim M. Rashid is a Professor and former Chairman of the Department of Human Development and Psychoeducational Studies in the School of Education at Howard University in Washington, DC. A native of Flint, Michigan, Dr. Rashid received his B.A. degree in Psychology from Pomona College in Claremont, California, a M.A. in Early Childhood Education and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Education and Psychology from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He completed post-doctoral work at Michigan State University’s Institute for Research on Teaching. Dr. Rashid is a former preschool teacher and a center director. He has also been a research associate at the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Dr. Rashid has served as a Fulbright Scholar at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a Visiting Professor at Khartoum University in Sudan, and a Fulbright-Hays Seminar Abroad Fellow in China. He has lectured in Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Bermuda, Canada, and the United States. He has also served as a consultant to child development programs around the country. In addition to Howard University, Dr. Rashid has served on the faculties of Jackson State University, the University of Michigan at Flint, and the University of South Carolina. Articles written by Dr. Rashid have appeared in the, the Journal of Negro Education, the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, Muslim Education Quarterly, Educational Research Quarterly, Contemporary Education and Young Children, among other publications. Dr. Rashid has made numerous presentations at national conferences including the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the American Educational Research Association, the National Black Child Development Institute and the National Head Start Association. He is also a former co-editor of the online journal African American Learners. Most recently Dr. Rashid has produced and directed a documentary film entitled “Strange Fruit Redux? The Perils of Young Black Boys in Early Childhood Education.” Dr. Rashid is married and has three grown children and nine grandchildren.

Bill Jaeger

Bill Jaeger serves as the Vice President of Early Childhood & Policy Initiatives at the Colorado Children’s Campaign, a non-profit, non-partisan research, policy, and advocacy organization committed to ensuring every chance for every child. Bill has spent more than a fifteen years teaching, studying, and working on issues in public education and public policy. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a Master’s in Education from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education before spending several years as a public school teacher and administrator in the greater Hartford, Connecticut area. Bill also holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy and a Master’s in Political Science and worked in several positions in the non-profit sector prior to joining the Colorado Children’s Campaign. His research has been published in American Politics Research and State Politics and Policy Quarterly and he currently serves as a Colorado Children and Families Health and Human Services Ascend Fellow with the Aspen Institute. He also serves on the Boards of the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition, Executives Partnering to Invest in Children (EPIC), and Mile High Early Learning. At the Children’s Campaign, Bill has led efforts to advance child care, early learning, and mental health policy efforts to support Colorado’s youngest children. Recent legislation that the Children’s Campaign has championed in these areas include HB 14-1317 to reform our state’s child care subsidy program, SB 14-003 to establish the “Cliff Effect” Pilot Program, HB 15-1317 to create “pay for success” programs in Colorado, HB 16-1227 to lower barriers to child care for teen parents and survivors of domestic violence, and SB 17-103 to embed early learning strategies as part of school turnaround efforts. Bill is a graduate of Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs and enjoys spending time in the mountains with his wife, son, daughter, and golden retriever.