Dr. Jack Gillette, dean of our Graduate School of Education, is pleased to welcome two new faculty members, both of whom will be teaching in the graduate early childhood education programs.
Susan Twombly has been teaching children in their first years of learning for over 40 years. She began as a preschool teacher in a Headstart program in Somerville. More recently, she was director of the Infant Toddler Children’s Center in Acton, Massachusetts, which is recognized for its strong belief in the competency of every child to use exploration and experiences both in the classroom and in nature to grow and learn. A board member of the Boston Area Reggio Inspired Network, Susan brings to Lesley a fascination with the learning process and how children, parents, and teachers develop skills and knowledge.
In addition to her position at Lesley, Dana Bentley is an early childhood classroom educator at Buckingham Browne and Nichols school. She has been teaching in early childhood for over 15 years in Boston and New York City. As an anti-bias educator, Dana focuses on social justice work, studying children’s emerging political literacies. Her dual role as a scholar-teacher allows her to investigate theory in practice in the realities of today’s young children. She is the author of a number of articles and book chapters. A book co-authored with Maria Souto-Manning, “Young Children as Authors: Growing Language Arts Curricula through Play,” is forthcoming.