Margaret Mary Policastro

Dr. Margaret Mary Policastro is a professor of language and literacy at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois, where she directs the language and literacy program and is the founding director of the Summer Reading Clinic for children. Dr. Policastro has more than 30 years of experience teaching both undergraduate and graduate students in language and literacy at Roosevelt University. She has worked more than 10 years on grant funded literacy projects in Chicago Public Schools and is currently the principal investigator of the Improving Teacher Quality (ITQ) grant from the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE), funded by No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Dr. Policastro grew up in South Bend, Indiana, and attended Indiana University where she received her B.S. in art and elementary education and her M.S. in reading. After teaching art and reading in Indiana, she moved to Chicago, Illinois, and earned her Ph.D. at Northwestern University in reading and language. Dr. Policastro’s research interests currently focus on access to books for parents, children, and teachers and ongoing professional development for teachers and what effects these have on student learning. She has co-authored The New Balanced Literacy School: Implementing Common Core and Formative Assessment in the New Balanced Literacy School and authored Living Literacy at Home: A Parent’s Guide.