Francis Bailey is the Director of the Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) Master's program at the University of Kentucky. Francis has a doctoral degree from the University of Massachusetts. His primary educational focus is on issues in teaching English language learners in and outside of the United States. He has conducted research on second language acquisition and the challenges faced by culturally and linguistically diverse students due to differences between home (and community) ways of learning and knowing and the academic and social demands of schools. Francis has become increasingly interested in the ways that the cognitive sciences can inform our understanding of classroom learning.

Ken Pransky has been working in the field of multicultural education for 35 years. He has taught K–12, at the college level, and to adults. He has taught as an EFL teacher overseas and for 20 years was an ESL teacher in the Massachusetts public schools, where he became increasingly interested in understanding, researching, and writing about what causes underachievement and academic struggle. Since 2008, he has been a full time teacher trainer and instructional coach through the Collaborative for Educational Services in Northampton, MA.