She received a PhD from the University of Chicago and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She leads a program of research focused on language and literacy development, particularly in children from homes in which English is not the primary or only language used. Her current research examines how variations in the features of home and school language impact children’s language and literacy skills during preschool through adolescence. To date, her work, employing both naturalistic observation and experimental techniques, suggests that exposure to high-quality language experiences is a significant source of children’s oral language and reading development.