About the Author
Frank O. Dykes, EdD, has more than 35 years of experience in education as a general education teacher, special education teacher, educational diagnostician, central office administrator, and university professor. He maintains an active role in public education as an educational consultant in the areas of assessment, evidence-based strategies, cultural diversity, and learning disabilities. Dr. Dykes has several publications to his credit and is a speaker at the international, national, and state levels. His research interests include special education assessment, learning disabilities, teacher training, RTI, minority overrepresentation in special education, and LGBTQ youth issues. Dr. Dykes is the past state treasurer for the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)–Texas and is a past member of the CEC Elections Committee. At the time of the publication of this book. Dr. Dykes was serving as the past president of the Teacher Education Division of CEC.
Jessica A. Rueter, PhD, is an associate professor of special education at the University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler). Dr. Rueter has 30 years of experience as a special education teacher, educational diagnostician, and university professor. Dr. Rueter has several publications to her credit and is a frequent speaker at the international, national, and state levels. She is an assessment consultant to school districts in East Texas and in the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area and has served as an expert witness in due process hearings. Her research interests include best practices of assessment of students with disabilities and translating assessment results into evidence-based instructional practices. Dr. Rueter serves as program coordinator for the educational diagnostician program at UT Tyler, former cochair for the Small Special Education Program Caucus (SSEPC) Symposium, past president of the Council for Educational Diagnostic Services (CEDS), past president of the Texas Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), and continues to be an active member of CEC, CEDS, TED, and SSEPC.
Staci M. Zolkoski, PhD, is an associate professor of special education at the University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler). She earned her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from the University of Toledo in Ohio. She earned her master’s degree and PhD from the University of North Texas in special education with an emphasis in behavior disorders. Prior to working at the collegiate level, Dr. Zolkoski taught kindergarten and fourth grade. She teaches classroom management at the undergraduate and graduate levels as well as courses in special education, behavior disorders, and educational strategies. She has won Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society Teacher of the Year for the School of Education at UT Tyler two times and received the Teacher of the Year award for the Department of Education and Psychology at UT Tyler. Dr. Zolkoski is a member of Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and is an active member of the Division of Emotional and Behavioral Health (DEBH), where she serves on the publications and professional development committees. She serves as the treasurer of the DEBH Foundation and is the editor of the DEBH newsletter, Behavior Today. Dr. Zolkoski has presented and published her research in resilience and social emotional learning at the national and international levels. She has worked with local school districts in implementing social emotional learning and has done trainings supporting teachers and schools in social emotional learning and classroom management. Dr. Zolkoski has also presented for ElevateTXed, which is a collaborative effort across the University of Texas system.
