Partners & Funders

We are proud to partner with a variety of national centers and organizations who are leading the way on improving outcomes for young children, with schools and districts who are working hard every day to support children’s learning and development, and with the faculty, staff, and students at the University of Denver whose collaborations and contributions are essential to our work. None of this would be possible without the generous support of our national and private funders who challenge us to stretch and strengthen our approaches to reach more children with high quality early education and care.

Partnerships with National Centers

• STEM Innovation for Inclusion in Early Education Center

  The Marsico Institute is part of the national STEM Innovation for Inclusion in Early Education Center (STEMI2E2) in partnership with the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Center is funded by the Office of Special Education Programs, US Department of Education. The Center is funded by the Office of Special Education Programs, US Department of Education. The work of the Center is focused on developing and enhancing the knowledge base for engagement in STEM learning opportunities for young children with disabilities, implementing high-quality technical assistance and professional development to increase engagement for young children with disabilities in STEM opportunities, and engaging partners and stakeholders from diverse disciplines and industry in work to increase the inclusion of young children with disabilities in early high-quality STEM learning experiences.

• Development and Research in Early Mathematics Education (DREME) Network

  The DREME Network is collaborative collection of scholars from around the country engaging in research and development to advance of understanding of early math. Funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation, the goal of DREME is to advance the field of early mathematics research in the U.S., significantly improving how early math is taught and learned. Network members include:

  • Deborah Stipek (Faculty Director), Professor, Stanford University
  • Amy Claessens, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Douglas Clements, University of Denver
  • Cynthia Coburn, Professor, Northwestern University
  • Eric Dearing, Professor, Boston College
  • Dale C. Farran, Emerita Professor, Vanderbilt University
  • Megan Franke, Professor, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Herbert Ginsburg, Professor, Columbia University
  • Susan Levine, Professor, University of Chicago
  • Michèle Mazzocco, Professor, University of Minnesota
  • Gigliana Melzi, Associate Professor, New York University
  • Linda M. Platas, Associate Professor, San Francisco State University
• Early Childhood Technical Assistance (ECTA) Center

  The Early Childhood Technical Assistance (ECTA) Center is funded by OSEP to provide technical assistance (TA) to improve services and results for young children, birth to five, with disabilities and their families. ECTA provides information and TA to a) increase awareness and recognition of how IDEA Part C and Section 619 can be intentionally included within broader early childhood initiatives; b) increase knowledge, skills, and competencies of IDEA Part C and Section 619 Coordinators; c) increase capacity of Part C and Section 619 programs to implement systems change efforts, improve and sustain state systems, and increase access to, and participation in, high-quality, inclusive programs for young children with disabilities; and, d) increase implementation of effective services and evidence-based interventions, including DEC Recommended Practices, in inclusive settings. Learn more here.

• National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations (NCPMI)

  The National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations (NCPMI) is funded by the Office of Special Education Programs to improve and support the capacity of state systems and local programs to implement an early childhood multi-tiered system of support to improve the social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes of young children with, and at risk for, developmental disabilities or delays. The goals of the Center are to assist states and programs in their implementation of sustainable systems for the implementation of the Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children (Pyramid Model) within early intervention and early education programs with a focus on promoting the social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes of young children birth to five, reducing the use of inappropriate discipline practices, promoting family engagement, using data for decision-making, integrating early childhood and infant mental health consultation and fostering inclusion. Learn more here.

National Collaborations and Service to the Field

Our Executive Director, Douglas Clements, has served on the U.S. President's National Mathematics Advisory Panel, the Common Core State Standards committee of the National Governor’s Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National Research Council’s Committee on Early Mathematics, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics national standards committees, and is a co-author on each of their reports.