Project Staff

Dr. Clifford's training is in Educational Administration with specializations in Political Science and Research. He has had experience as a teacher and principal in public schools. For more than 25 years, he has been involved in studying public policies and advising local, state and federal officials and practitioners on policies affecting children and their families. His work has focused on two major themes: public financing of programs for young children, and the provision of appropriate learning environments for preschool and early school aged children. Dr. Clifford has edited several books and journal issues as well as authored numerous published articles. He is co-author of a widely used series of instruments for evaluating learning environments for children.

In 1993-94, Dr. Clifford took a one year leave of absence from UNC-CH to help establish and to serve as the first director of the Division of Child Development in the North Carolina Department of Human Resources, and to help with the design and implementation of the NC's Smart Start early childhood initiative. He is past president of the National Association for the Education of Young Children..

Kelly Maxwell, Ph.D.
Co-Director
Dr. Maxwell is a Scientist at the FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the School of Education. She is a licensed psychologist in North Carolina with a degree in School Psychology.

Dr. Maxwell directed North Carolina's statewide school readiness assessment and served as Chair of the School Readiness Definition committee for the North Carolina Ready for School Goal Team. In addition to serving as Co-Director of the National Prekindergarten Center, she co-leads the evaluation of Smart Start, North Carolina's early childhood initiative.

Dr. Maxwell's primary research and evaluation interests include school readiness, developmentally appropriate practices in preschool and the early elementary grades, and evaluation of early childhood initiatives. She is co-author of a recently published measure of global classroom quality in kindergarten through third grade.

Cristina Gillanders

Dr. Gillanders is a Postdoctoral Fellow with the National Prekindergarten Center at the FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Her research interests include emergent literacy, second language learning and socio-cultural contexts of learning. Dr. Gillanders has worked as a bilingual early childhood teacher and administrator as well as a college instructor.