Robert C. Pianta, Ph.D., is Dean of the Curry School of Education, Director of the Center for Advanced Study in Teaching and Learning and Novartis U.S. Foundation Professor of Education at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. A former special education teacher, Dr. Pianta is a developmental, school, and clinical child psychologist whose work focuses on assessment and improvement of teacher-student interactions and their role in fostering children's learning and development.

Dr. Pianta is a principal investigator on several major grants including the National Center for Research in Early Childhood Education and the Virginia Education Sciences Training Program, and he has worked closely with the Gates Foundation-funded Measure of Effective Teaching project.

He is the author of more than 250 journal articles, chapters, and books in the areas of early childhood education, teacher performance assessment, professional development, and teacher-child relationships, and he consults regularly with federal agencies, foundations and universities.

Marcia Kraft-Sayre, L.C.S.W., is Regional Project Coordinator for the National Center for Early Development & Learning (NCEDL) Multi-State Study of Pre-Kindergarten at the University of Virginia. She has also served as Coordinator for the NCEDL Kindergarten Transition Project. Her current work entails managing data collection for a national study of state-funded prekindergarten programs. She is the co-author of several articles about the transition to kindergarten. For 15 years prior to coming to NCEDL, she worked as a clinical social worker with children and families in mental health and medical settings.