Biography: Thelma Harms is director of curriculum development at FPG Child Development Institute and a research professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Education. Dr. Harms is recognized internationally for her work on creating high quality early childhood environments and assessing educational settings. For 15 years she served as head teacher at the Harold E. Jones Child Study Center, UC Berkeley. She has developed a variety of curriculum materials and staff training resources. Much of her recent training and consultation has focused on the use of the scales in technical assistance, and on helping government agencies to develop accountable systems for recognizing and rewarding high quality programs.