Buell Early Childhood Leadership Program Faculty
Carolyn Elverenli, Ed.D., Faculty Lead, celveren@du.edu
Carolyn Elverenli has 10 years of experience directing quality early care and education programs that were federally funded and university supported, designed and taught an advanced course in early childhood leadership at the University of Denver, and is the recipient of the "Leadership Development in ECE" public good grant. This grant provided funds for a partnership between DU and Clayton Early Learning to plan and deliver a series of leadership seminars for Denver area Directors titled "A Time to Lead: Strategies and Skills to Shape Early Childhood Education in the 21st Century". Current focuses are the mentorship and development of leaders in early care and education systems. Elverenli received her Masters of Education with an emphasis on Curriculum and Instruction in Early Childhood Education from George Mason University, and her Doctor of Education in Elementary Education/Early Childhood Education with a focus on Leadership and Early Language and Literacy Development from The University of Northern Colorado. Elverenli has extensive experience with diverse ethnic and sociocultural student and teaching staff populations. She has guided three early care and education systems to successful NAEYC Accreditation. During her tenure in Washington DC, Elverenli focused on providing quality early learning experiences for children of diverse ethnic and sociocultural experiences. Dr. Elverenli served as the Program Coordinator on the planning phase of this project and will now serve as the Faculty Director, bringing "real world experience" to course content and delivery.
THE CLAYTON EARLY LEARNING STAFF
Lynn Andrews, Adjunct Faculty
Lynn Andrews, M.S., is a member of the Design Team in addition to serving as adjunct faculty for the Buell Early Childhood Leadership Program. As the Senior Director of Early Childhood Community Services at Clayton Early Learning, she is responsible for leadership development and coaching services to community early childhood education programs seeking to improve their quality, and for oversight of the Colorado Parent Information Resource Center. Ms. Andrews has over 30 years experience in early childhood education and primary prevention program development and administration in Colorado and Connecticut. She has developed and taught curricula on diverse topics such as outcomes-based coaching, youth violence prevention, and leadership issues such as creating effective teams, managing change and conflict, and strengthening parent involvement. As a Clayton staff member assigned to Educare Colorado, she had a lead role in developing the Qualistar Rating system and quality improvement model now being used statewide in Colorado to support childrens school readiness. Her work in community development initiatives has included establishing and coordinating regional parent leadership programs, school-community partnerships to support Kindergarten transition, and a coaching peer support network. Ms. Andrews holds a Masters of Science in School Psychology with an emphasis in early childhood from the University of Bridgeport.
Chris Sciarrino, Adjunct Faculty
Chris Sciarrino serves as the Senior Director for Research and Professional Studies at Clayton Early Learning. Sciarrino brings over 30 years of early childhood field experience including program development, administration, and university teaching expertise. Her participation on the team of a Denver Early Head Start research project led to the projects continuous improvement model being highlighted as a national example. She has extensive experience developing and presenting trainings for early childhood professionals as well as developing training and professional development and coaching models. Current focuses at the Institute include directing the Early Reading First program, developing and piloting a birth to three curricula-based social communication assessment, developing and implementing a curriculum embedded language and literacy assessment for preschoolers and managing Clayton's Early Education Career Center, a higher education collaborative. Sciarrino received her undergraduate and Master's Degrees in Child Development and Family Studies from Kent State University. Sciarrino serves on the Buell Early Childhood Leadership Design Team and will teach courses as a faculty member bringing passion for bridging theory into practice to meet the unique developmental needs of young children and families and the staff who serve them.
Joanne Dalton, Adjunct Faculty
Joanne Dalton is a Quality Improvement Coach with Clayton Early Learning. As a part time member of the Quality Improvement team, she provides direct support, training and technical assistance to child care providers in homes and centers. Joanne also coordinates and is a facilitator for the Reflective Leadership Institutes which provides opportunities for early childhood education professionals to reflect and gain strategies and skills for effective leadership. Prior to her return as an employee of the Clayton Foundation in 2000, Joanne has worked as a child care home provider, preschool/kindergarten teacher, creator of two alternative schools, and trainer/educational consultant in both urban and rural settings. She received a B.A. in Sociology, a B.A. in Early Childhood Education and her M.A. in Whole Learning. Joanne has also been a Field Consultant for the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation for 20 years. She continues to work as an Independent Consultant. Most importantly, Joanne is the mother of two biracial daughters who are now married and have created 4 grandchildren, ranging from newborn to 14 years of age. Learning with her diverse family provides inspiration and opportunities for life long learning!