Mary Jane Maguire-Fong

Professor, early childhood education, American River College

Mary Jane Maguire-Fong is professor of early childhood education at American River College in Sacramento, CA. She has been a preschool teacher, an infant center director, and administrator of early childhood programs serving families in the migrant farm worker community. Her work is inspired by the philosophy of teaching used in the birth to 5 programs in the city of Reggio Emilia, Italy. She serves as faculty for the Program for Infant/Toddler Care and holds an Infant–Parent Mental Health Certificate from the University of Massachusetts. She is a contributing author for the California Department of Education Infant/Toddler Curriculum Framework and the three volumes of the Preschool Curriculum Framework and authored a chapter in the WestEd publication Concepts for Care: 20 Essays on Infant/Toddler Development and Learning. Her college teaching includes courses specific to early childhood curriculum, infant-toddler and preschool learning environments, practicum in early childhood settings, culture and diversity in early childhood education, children and families within the community, and administration and supervision of programs for young children. As department chair for early childhood education at American River College, she oversaw the development of a large early childhood teacher preparation program, including a practicum within a state-of-the-art college laboratory school for children birth through the school-age years. She sits on numerous policy committees and boards as an advocate for children and families. She has been a featured presenter for the Early Head Start National Resource Center and a webinar presenter for WestEd’s Schools Moving Up. She has two children who have contributed generously to her understanding of how young children develop and learn.