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Leslie Cooley worked as a school psychologist in public schools for 20 years. Initially hired in 1978 to facilitate counseling groups, she approached the task with enthusiasm and massive naivete as she had little training in group counseling. Based on her natural optimism and easy way of relating to students, she developed a variety of skills and techniques that were closely related to the later work of the innovators of solution-focused counseling.

Constance Hanel is currently working as a school counselor and skills coach for youth K-12. With her background as a prevention specialist, Hanel has focused on working with at-risk children on alternative skill building. She mentors youth in leadership roles and is the co-creator of the youth leadership program Operation Kids-Real Life Learning.

Susan Benner grew up in Atlanta, Georgia during a period of significant social change and racial unrest throughout the country. She earned her BA in Social Sciences at Southern Methodist University and MS in special education from The University of Tennessee. After teaching as a special educator in Memphis, Tennessee, she received her Ed.D. in special education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Since 1980, Dr.

Ted H. Hull completed 32 years of service in public education before retiring and opening Hull Educational Consulting. He served as a mathematics teacher, K-12 mathematics coordinator, middle school principal, director of curriculum and instruction, and a project director for the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas in Austin.

Don S. Balka, Ph.D., is a noted mathematics educator who has presented more than 2,000 workshops on the use of math manipulatives with PK-12 students at national and regional conferences of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and at in-service trainings in school districts throughout the United States and the world.

Janet Alleman is a Professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Michigan State University. She is author and coauthor of a range of publications including Children’s Thinking about Cultural Universals and a three-volume series entitled Social Studies Excursions, K–3.

Barbara Knighton is an elementary school teacher with over 20 years of experience in the classroom, including 16 years concentrating on the early grades. She currently teaches fourth grade in the Waverly Community Schools in Lansing, Michigan. Barbara has coauthored or contributed to several books on education, including two with an in-depth look at teaching in the primary classroom.

Rob Ley has taught third and fourth grade in both urban and suburban districts. He received his BA and MA from Michigan State University and is currently teaching in the Haslett Public Schools in Haslett, Michigan. He has presented research at state and national conferences related to making curriculum more meaningful for students by integrating community resources.

Benjamin Botwinski is currently enrolled as a full-time graduate student at the College of Education, Michigan State University, where he is studying educational policy and administration. Prior to becoming a full-time student, Botwinski served as a high school social studies teacher in west Michigan. He currently lives in East Lansing, Michigan, with his wife and two children.

Sarah C. Middlestead is a middle school teacher with seven years of experience in the mathematics classroom. She obtained both her undergraduate and graduate degrees at Michigan State University and spent the first seven years of her teaching career at at a middle school in mid-Michigan. Sarah is passionate about teaching mathematics in an innovative and creative way, guiding students in exploring how mathematics is used in the world in which they live.

Mara Sapon-Shevin is Professor of Inclusive Education in the Teaching and Leadership Department of the School of Education at Syracuse University. She teaches in the University’s Inclusive Elementary and Special Education Teacher Education Program that prepares teachers for inclusive, heterogeneous classrooms.

Monica L. Harris is an assistant professor at Grand Valley State University in the College of Education. She began her career in education at the secondary level and has experience teaching adolescents in general and special education settings as well as developing and implementing programs for students who struggle academically or are at risk of school failure.