Michele L. Stites, Ed.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Education at UMBC. She holds an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from The George Washington University (2012). Dr. Stites was a classroom teacher for ten years (K-5 and special education) and has taught in multiple states throughout the US. Dr. Stites’ research focuses on mathematics teaching and learning for children with and without disabilities. She uses a variety of research methodology in her scholarly work including quantitative methodologies, mixed-methods, survey research, and meta-analysis. Her work has recently been published in Early Education and Development, the Journal of Early Childhood Research, and Early Child Development and Care. She is also an author of Families, schools, and communities: building partnerships for educating children.