Dr. Thorp is Associate Professor Emerita of Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education. She serves as co-director, with Dr. Sylvia Sanchez, of Project UTEM, the Unified Teacher Education Model in Early Childhood Education. This is an innovative pilot program preparing early educators to work with culturally, linguistically, and ability diverse young learners and their families in inclusive community settings. The program leads to Virginia licensure in Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood Special Education, and English as a Second Language. She is also Project Director of the Multicultural Early Childhood Team Training Project, a federally funded parent-professional inservice project.
Dr. Thorp has a B.A. in psychology from Northwestern University, an M.A. in Early Childhood Special Education from The George Washington University, and an Ed.D. in Early Childhood Special Education, with a supporting field in Developmental Psychology, from The George Washington University. Prior to coming to George Mason University, she had an appointment at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the Department of Special Education. Dr. Thorp's research, publication, and grant activity has focused on family-professional collaboration and on models for the preparation of teachers and other professionals to work with young children with special needs and their families.
