Strategies for Addressing Behavior Problems in the Classroom

Mary Margaret Kerr received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Duke University and her doctorate from The American University in Washington, DC. Trained in special education and developmental psychology, Dr. Kerr has devoted her career to working with troubled children and adolescents and to teaching those who help them. The author of six textbooks and many articles, she has taught in special education and alternative education classrooms and continues to consult with school districts across the country. A former faculty member at Vanderbilt University, Dr. Kerr joined the faculty of the School of Medicine and the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh in 1980.

In 1989, Dr. Kerr joined the Pittsburgh City Schools as Director of Pupil Services, where she administered services such as guidance, counseling, social work, drug-free schools, alternative education, health services, school security, and discipline. In 1994, she returned to her faculty position at the University of Pittsburgh, where she is Educational Director and Associate Professor of Child Psychiatry and Education. She also directs outreach services for the University's youth suicide and violence prevention center, STAR-Center. This center provides crisis response services, training, and consultation to school districts and communities across Pennsylvania.

In 1996 Dr. Kerr was appointed by the United States Court for the Central District of California as a Consent Decree Administrator for Los Angeles Unified School District. In this capacity, Dr. Kerr works with educators and parents to improve services for 81,000 students with disabilities.

When Dr. Kerr is not at work in Pittsburgh or Los Angeles, she is at home with her husband Bruce and their two children.

C. Michael Nelson began his special education career as a teacher of adolescents with learning and behavior disorders. After earning a master's degree in school psychology, he worked as a child psychologist at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He received his Ed.D. from the University of Kansas in 1969 and took a position with the Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling at the University of Kentucky, where he currently is a full professor and coordinates the graduate Personnel Preparation Program for Teachers of Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities. Dr. Nelson has authored or edited over 100 professional publications, including books, textbook chapters, articles in referred journals, and multimedia instructional packages. He has prepared teachers of children and youth with behavior disorders at the pre- and in-service levels and has served as principal investigator on a number of research and personnel preparation grants. He has served as president of the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders. Currently, he is involved in two national centers that promote research and best practices for students with or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders: the Center for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support, and the Center for Education, Disability, and Juvenile Justice. He also is associated with the Kentucky Center for School Safety.