Dr. Jean C. Murphy receiver her doctorate from National-Louis University in Illinois in Curriculum and Instruction. She is a tenured Associate Professor of Education at Chicago State University. Dr. Murphy has worked in the field of education in a variety of positions: classroom teacher, program administrator, program consultant and evaluator, education coordinator, infant/toddler specialist, CDA Advisor, consultant to federal programs, trainer, and professor. Dr. Murphy’s research focuses on two primary areas: Academic achievement among African-American primary-age children; Reading. She has presented at local teacher in services, and local and national conferences such as the National Black Child Development Institute, National Association of African American Educators, National Association for the Education of Young children. She has published article in several journals such as: Young Children, Reading Improvement, Educational Forum, Journal of Early Education and Family Review.