Children and Families (BS)
"To teach is to touch a life forever."
"To teach is to touch a life forever."
The Children and Families program is offered as a Bachelor degree (major), a minor, an associate degree, and a certificate, all in an effort to bulid a strong foundational framework for understanding child development birth through age eight, as well as family and community contexts that promote learning and development.
As a student in Madonna's Children and Families program, you'll be immersed in learning about the growth and development of young children with instructors who are dedicated your success. Theories of child development will come alive through experiences with children. You’ll learn to plan and assess environments, materials, activities, and interactions that can facilitate children’s emotional, social, cognitive, and physical development.
With support from both your professors and university supervisors, you’ll grow confident in your teaching practice. Madonna’s Children and Families program affords you a wealth of opportunities to prepare for a variety of highly rewarding careers.
"My name is Briana Brown and I graduated in 2018! I am currently a preschool teacher at New Saint Paul Head Start and I absolutely love my job and the difference I am able to make. I came to Madonna because I was looking for a way to merge my passion for children and sign language. The staff was encouraging throughout my time at the school and without them, I wouldn't have made it through a double major. I am happy I chose Madonna and I would do it all over again!"
Designed for those who want to teach young children in an elementary education setting, as coursework leads to Michigan teacher certification.
With a focus on infants and toddlers birth through age three, this three-course (9 semester hour) certificate will give you a well-rounded understanding of how best to support the growth and development of our youngest learners.
B.S. University of Michigan – Flint
M.S. Oakland University
Ed.S. Oakland University
Ph.D. Oakland University
734-432-5785, 2230G
Dr. Sue Ann Sharma is an Assistant Professor and Director of Graduate Literacy in the College of Education at Madonna University. She is passionate about preparing teachers to meet the diverse needs of learners and developing instructional literacy leaders.
Dr. Sharma is a literacy advocate and has served on the International Reading Association’s Literacy Reform Task Force. Dr. Sharma is the past president of the Michigan Reading Association, and also holds appointments on the Michigan Reading Association’s Board of Directors and Michigan Reading Journal Review Board.
B.S. State University of New York at Cortland
M.S. Central Michigan University
732-432-5654, 2230B
Tess Kelly is the Placement Coordinator for the College of Education at Madonna University. She has also served as an adjunct faculty in the Teacher Education, Early Childhood, and Children and Families programs.
Christine has been teaching part time in the college of education at Madonna University since 2015. Christine also works full time at HighScope Educational Research Foundation as and Early Childhood Specialist. She has 20 years of experience in the early childhood field as a classroom teacher, center director, and instructional coach/trainer.
Christine has authored several books and articles in addition to contributing to the development of many classroom and digital teacher resources. Christine has served on several local, state, and national education councils and boards. She is active in advocacy work to advance equitable access to education.
In addition to being an adjunct professor in the Early Childhood Education Department at Madonna University, Holly Delgado is an Early Child Specialist at HighScope Educational Research Foundation. She has an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Central Michigan University and a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Special Education from Northeastern Illinois University. She is a certified teacher in both Michigan and Illinois and has experience as a teacher, coach, trainer, and administrator.
Holly has spent over fifteen years working in inclusive classrooms and home-based environments, as well as self-contained early childhood special education classrooms, for children ages birth to five. Her work outside of the classroom includes developing and facilitating professional development surrounding best practices in the field of early childhood education at the local, state, national and international levels.
B.A. University of Michigan - Dearborn
M.Ed. University of Michigan - Dearborn
Ph.D. Oakland University
Dr. Anne Donato holds a doctorate in Early Childhood Education, with a primary emphasis on differentiated instruction. Her passion lies in literacy efforts that provide inclusion of all students into the world of reading.
In addition to teaching, Dr. Donato has taught, lobbied, consulted, and advocated for early childhood education for over 25 years, in both the private and public sectors, including NAEYC and at the international level.
