Senior Education Researcher & Technical Assistance Specialist, SRI Education
Sheresa Boone Blanchard, PhD, is a senior education researcher and technical assistance specialist with more than 25 years of experience and expertise in special education, early childhood, early intervention, educator preparation/workforce, and community-based participatory research. Blanchard has experience conducting mixed-methods and qualitative studies; engaging communities in the research process; providing consultation and technical assistance to states, programs, and organizations; and gathering evaluation and program improvement data from a wide range of partners. A former special education teacher, early interventionist, and higher education faculty member, Blanchard draws from her professional and formal preparation to inform study design, data collection, technical assistance, and systems change through an equity, inclusion, and social justice focus.
At SRI, Blanchard currently provides technical assistance to IDEA Part C and Part B Section 619 state agencies through the Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems (DaSy). She was also the project director for the U.S. Department of Education-funded Innovative Technology for Early Childhood Assessment (INTECA) project. Through INTECA, Blanchard worked to increase knowledge and build capacity around equitable and innovative approaches for integrating technology into authentic assessments for young children with disabilities.
Blanchard previously served as principal investigator for the Colorado Universal Preschool Discovery Project, co-developing a theory of change and implementation logic model for the state’s new universal preschool program in collaboration with Colorado Department of Early Childhood and the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab. She was also a technical assistance specialist and subject matter expert for Nevada Early Care and Education Workforce Support Framework Facilitation (Nevada Children’s Cabinet), which supported workgroups focused on strengthening the state’s early childhood education workforce. Through the Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center, Blanchard served as a technical assistance specialist and leadership team member for the U.S. Department of Education-funded Kindergarten Sturdy Bridge project, which provided learning communities to state early childhood teams to strengthen the kindergarten year as a bridge from preschool to early elementary school.
Outside of her project work, Blanchard is a governor-appointed North Carolina Child Care Commissioner. In addition, she has served as an editor for several journal issues, regularly publishes work in peer-reviewed journals, and has co-authored chapters in edited books on topics such as assessment, qualitative analysis, and bioecological theory.
Before joining SRI, Blanchard was an associate professor at East Carolina University. She began her career as a special education teacher and early interventionist, holding several related positions in the field. Blanchard earned a PhD in specialized education services (focus on early childhood) from University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Key projects
- DaSy Center
- ECTA
- Tech-Based Approaches for Assessing Children w/ Disabilities
- Evaluation of the National Center for Teacher Residencies’ Centering Equity Project
- Kindergarten Sturdy Bridge
- Feasibility Study of Cultural and Linguistic Adaptations to PIXI, a Telehealth Intervention for Infants with Neurogenetic Conditions and their Caregivers
- Colorado Universal Preschool Discovery Project
Highlighted publications
- State Coordinator Perceptions of Linkages Between Newborn Screening and Early Intervention
- Benefits and Challenges of Using Virtual Assessment in Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education
- Early Educators and COVID-19: Reflections on Well-Being
- A Scan of Professional Organizations for Positions and Resources on Virtual Assessment of Young Children with Disabilities
- Strengths-Based Family and Community Partnerships in Early Childhood Special Education Research and Practice
- When Being an Expert May Not Be Enough: Understanding the Experiences of Special Education Professionals Parenting Children with Disabilities
- Beyond omission: Analysing the erasure of disability and inclusion in the developmentally appropriate practices
- Phenomenological analysis and racial socialization interpretation of interviews with African American parents of toddler sons
- Data Inquiry Cycle
- State Coordinator Perceptions of Linkages Between Newborn Screening and Early Intervention
- Nevada early childhood workforce support framework
Selected publications
- Confronting Racism and Bias Within Early Intervention: The Responsibility of Systems and Individuals to Influence Change and Advance Equity
- Use of Parental Racial Socialization with African American Toddler Boys
- Diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice: How antibias content and self-reflection support early childhood preservice teacher consciousness
