We are a campus wide, multidisciplinary center focused on improving the educational experiences and outcomes of young learners.  The Sherman Center’s diverse staff, campus advisory committee, and steering committee represent UMBC’s three Colleges (the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, the college of Engineering and Information Technology, and the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences) and reflects its commitment to community engagement and partnerships.

Staff and campus advisory committee members have backgrounds in biology, community organizing and fundraising, education, information systems, psychology, public policy, and social work.  Collectively, we represent expertise in research design and methods, grant writing, early literacy and numeracy development, family engagement, science education, and human centered technology.

We share a strong commitment to children, families, and communities, and to fostering rigorous research that practitioners and policymakers can use to enhance young children’s learning. Partnering with principals, teachers and staff, families, and community members and organizations, our goal is to advance data-driven improvements in early childhood classrooms in Baltimore City and other urban centers.