50 Strategies for Communicating and Working with Diverse Families

Janet Gonzalez-Mena is Retired Faculty in Child and Family Studies, Napa Valley College, Napa California, where for 15 years she was on the full-time faculty until her retirement in 1998. Not only has she taught in the California community college system for 36 years, but also Gonzalez-Mena's career includes being a preschool teacher in a bilingual program, child care director, and coordinator of a pilot program of therapeutic child care for abused and neglected children. A prolific author, her textbook achievements include: Child, Family, and Community, 6th ed. (Pearson, 2013); Infants, Toddlers and Caregivers, 9th ed. (McGraw-Hill, 2012); Foundations of Early Childhood Education: Teaching Children in a Diverse Society, 6th ed., (McGraw-Hill, forthcoming); and Diversity in Early Care and Education: Honoring Differences, 4th ed. (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2008). Janet also co-authored Basics of Developmentally Appropriate Practice: An Introduction for Teachers of Infants and Toddlers (National Association for Education of Young Children, 2011). Currently self-employed as a consultant in early care and education, she also finds the time to write for Young Children and Exchange, and occasionally for publications in Canada and New Zealand.