{"id":905,"date":"2026-06-17T22:31:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T02:31:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/?page_id=905"},"modified":"2026-09-11T12:37:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T16:37:53","slug":"about-us","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/programs\/about-us\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #b94b41;\"><strong>What is the Nuestros Ni\u00f1os Program?<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<p>It is a federally funded project that provides professional development to teachers and assistant teachers in school districts in Massachusetts and Colorado. In Massachusetts, this professional development is being offered by Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development. It aims at educators meeting high standards in the early education of the youngest English Learners.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b48a00;\"><strong>Our Goals<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Nuestros Ni\u00f1os program\u2019s goals are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To improve language and literacy education for young bilinguals in PreKinder classes. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To enhance parents\u2019 abilities to promote their children\u2019s language and literacy by supporting teachers in strengthening home-school partnerships.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #397885;\"><strong>Professional Development<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Nuestros Ni\u00f1os Professional Development (NNPD) program consists of four courses leading to an academic certificate:\u200b<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Working with Families, Professionals, and Communities<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Bilingualism and Biliteracy in Early Childhood<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Methods for Teaching Young Bilingual Children\u200b<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Teacher Inquiry in Multilingual Early Childhood Classrooms<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"color: #bac106;\"><strong>Program Evaluation\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Nuestros Ni\u00f1os Program evaluates the implementation of the certificate\/credential of the professional development program to prepare educators to work with young bilingual children. This evaluation involves volunteer early educators, young bilingual children, parents\/caregivers, and coaches. Participating early educators complete questionnaires and participate in classroom observations. Selected educators are invited to participate in an interview about their experience in the program.\u00a0 Randomly chosen young bilingual children participate in language and literacy knowledge assessments in both languages. Consenting parents\/caregivers answer a questionnaire and participate in interviews. Then coaches are also interviewed about their experience in the program.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b94b41;\"><strong>What are educators getting from this project?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/files\/2021\/08\/3.png\" class=\"aligncenter\" width=\"903\" height=\"508\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Early educators enrolled in this certificate\/credential learn about educating young bilingual children, obtain 12 college credits that can be applied to a Bachelor\u2019s or Master\u2019s degree in Early Childhood Education (ECE), and learn with Boston University or University of Colorado Denver professors online, with individual support from a coach. For the home-school partnerships and classroom support, educators receive multilingual children\u2019s books for use in their classrooms and to send home to families.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #b48a00;\"><strong>Our Nuestros Ni\u00f1os Team<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h3><strong><\/strong><span style=\"color: #397885;\">Massachusetts Team<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Project Co-PI &amp; Instructor<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>\n\t<div class=\"profile-listing\">\n\t\t<ul class=\"advanced\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<li class=\"has-title\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/profile\/dina-castro\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img width=\"150\" height=\"146\" src=\"\/ecinstitute\/files\/2021\/10\/DCastro-photo-2025-636x618.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t<p class=\"profile-name\">Dina Castro<\/p>\n\t\t<p class=\"profile-title\">Director<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div><!--\/.profile-listing-->\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Co &#8211; Instructor<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>\n\t<div class=\"profile-listing\">\n\t\t<ul class=\"advanced\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<li class=\"has-title\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/profile\/janet-nicholson-cronin\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img width=\"150\" height=\"143\" src=\"\/ecinstitute\/files\/2024\/01\/Janet-Nicholson-Cronin-636x607.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t<p class=\"profile-name\">Janet Nicholson-Cronin<\/p>\n\t\t<p class=\"profile-title\">Co-Instructor,<br \/>\r\nEarly Childhood &#038; Language Learners<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div><!--\/.profile-listing-->\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Coach<\/span><\/strong><span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\n\t<div class=\"profile-listing\">\n\t\t<ul class=\"advanced\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<li class=\"has-title\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/profile\/tatiana-medina-barreto\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"\/ecinstitute\/files\/2025\/07\/tati.jpeg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t<p class=\"profile-name\">Tatiana Medina Barreto<\/p>\n\t\t<p class=\"profile-title\">Instructional Leader and Early Childhood Educator<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div><!--\/.profile-listing-->\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Program Evaluation Coordinator<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>\n\t<div class=\"profile-listing\">\n\t\t<ul class=\"advanced\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<li class=\"has-title\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/profile\/jelonid-m-fuentes-2\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img width=\"150\" height=\"128\" src=\"\/ecinstitute\/files\/2024\/01\/Jelonid-M.-Fuentes-1-636x543.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t<p class=\"profile-name\">Jelonid M. Fuentes<\/p>\n\t\t<p class=\"profile-title\">Program Coordinator<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div><!--\/.profile-listing-->\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Data Collection<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>\n\t<div class=\"profile-listing\">\n\t\t<ul class=\"advanced\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<li class=\"has-title\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/profile\/stephanie-balderas\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"\/ecinstitute\/files\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-19-at-10.47.39\u202fAM-633x636.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t<p class=\"profile-name\">Stephanie Balderas<\/p>\n\t\t<p class=\"profile-title\">Research Assistant<br \/>\r\nBiochemistry and Molecular Biology<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<li class=\"has-title\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/profile\/ximena-garcia\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img width=\"120\" height=\"150\" src=\"\/ecinstitute\/files\/2025\/04\/ximenaphoto-509x636.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t<p class=\"profile-name\">Ximena Garcia<\/p>\n\t\t<p class=\"profile-title\">Research Assistant,<br \/>\r\nPsychology and Sociology<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div><!--\/.profile-listing-->\n<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #397885;\">Colorado Team<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Project Co-PI &amp; Instructor<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>\n\t<div class=\"profile-listing\">\n\t\t<ul class=\"advanced\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<li class=\"has-title\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/profile\/cristina-gillanders\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img width=\"120\" height=\"150\" src=\"\/ecinstitute\/files\/2024\/08\/gillanders-cristina-508x636.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t<p class=\"profile-name\">Cristina Gillanders<\/p>\n\t\t<p class=\"profile-title\">Associate Professor, Early Childhood Education<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div><!--\/.profile-listing-->\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Co &#8211; Instructor<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>\n\t<div class=\"profile-listing\">\n\t\t<ul class=\"advanced\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<li class=\"has-title\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/profile\/nicole-sager\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"\/ecinstitute\/files\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-22-at-4.25.03\u202fAM-636x632.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t<p class=\"profile-name\">Nicole Sager<\/p>\n\t\t<p class=\"profile-title\">Co-Instructor<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div><!--\/.profile-listing-->\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Coach<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>\n\t<div class=\"profile-listing\">\n\t\t<ul class=\"advanced\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<li class=\"has-title\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/profile\/elena-bacmeister\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img width=\"111\" height=\"150\" src=\"\/ecinstitute\/files\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-22-at-4.20.48\u202fAM-470x636.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t<p class=\"profile-name\">Elena Bacmeister<\/p>\n\t\t<p class=\"profile-title\">Program Coach<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<li class=\"has-title\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/profile\/angelita-guerrero\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"\/ecinstitute\/files\/2025\/07\/b54fc0fc3bd8a5775a08061ee30843a1.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t<p class=\"profile-name\">Angelita Guerrero<\/p>\n\t\t<p class=\"profile-title\">Program Coach<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<li class=\"has-title\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/profile\/philadelphia-morgan\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"\/ecinstitute\/files\/2025\/07\/1678464304968.jpeg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t<p class=\"profile-name\">Philadelphia Morgan<\/p>\n\t\t<p class=\"profile-title\">Program Coach<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div><!--\/.profile-listing-->\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the Nuestros Ni\u00f1os Program? It is a federally funded project that provides professional development to teachers and assistant teachers in school districts in Massachusetts and Colorado. In Massachusetts, this professional development is being offered by Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development. It aims at educators meeting high standards in the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19837,"featured_media":0,"parent":1519,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/no-sidebars.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/905"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19837"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=905"}],"version-history":[{"count":41,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1793,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/905\/revisions\/1793"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}