Carla Burrell Stanford, M.Ed.

Carla has been an educator for over 25 years and taught children from all socio-economic backgrounds and urban, suburban, and rural environments. During these years, it became apparent that I didn’t have the tools to teach a child how to read. I sought out training in structured literacy and was blown away that I did not have this knowledge. In 2013, I cofounded the nonprofit Reading is Essential for All People (REAP), which aims to provide public school teachers with scientifically based training to teach children how to read. In the fall of 2020, I knew that my skills in teaching reading were needed in classrooms, so I began teaching reading to small groups of children in an Atlanta Public School and at a school that serves children experiencing homelessness. This work was filled with joy to see these fantastic faces each day and yet filled with a desire to know more to be a better teacher for these children. My children were predominantly African American(AA) who spoke African American English(AAE). I realized I needed to learn more about AAE and how children who speak AAE learn how to read.

Fortunately, this journey to learn more about how to teach AA children who speak AAE how to read effectively resulted in my pursuit of a Ph.D. in Education at the University of California, studying with Dr. Julie Washington. My research interests include understanding AAE and the role being a bidialectal speaker of AAE plays in learning to read for AA children. Additionally, I am interested in the role Executive Function plays in learning how to read, especially for AA children who are bidialectal speakers of AAE and experiencing homelessness.