La Croix, Leslie
Dr. Leslie La Croix
(she/her/hers)
PhD, George Mason University
Assistant Professor
Early Childhood Education
Phone: (703) 993-5488
Email: llacroix (@gmu.edu)
George Mason University
Fairfax Campus
Thompson Hall 1203
4400 University Dr.
MS 4C2
Fairfax, VA 22030
Dr. La Croix is an Assistant Professor in the Inclusive Early Childhood Education Program in College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. Dr. La Croix holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from James Madison University with a Minor in Early Childhood Education. She began her teaching career as a first- and third grade integrated language arts and social studies teacher in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. During that time, she completed a Masters of Science degree in Curriculum and Instruction at McDaniel College. Dr. La Croix completed her Doctorate of Philosophy in Education with a specialization in Literacy and a secondary concentration in Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education at George Mason University. Dr. La Croix's research focuses on the examination of educational pedagogies and practices that empower early childhood educators to work on behalf of the children they serve to promote socially just and inclusive communities. Primary content areas of specialization include early literacy, social studies, assessment, and behavior guidance practices for inclusive early learning environments.
Dr. La Croix’s research is focused on examining the instructional practices that support inservice and preservice teachers’ understandings of diverse young learners and their families. Current projects explore
· Promoting preservice teachers’ understandings of instructional writing practices for young authors, and
· Examining preservice and inservice teachers’ incorporation of diverse assessment practices for young children from culturally, linguistically, and socio-economically diverse backgrounds
Books
Schull, C. P., La Croix, L., Miller, S., Austin, K., & Kidd, J., (2021). Early childhood literacy: Engaging and empowering emergent readers and writers, birth – age 5. The Virtual Library of Virginia. https://viva.pressbooks.pub/earlychildhoodliteracy/
Articles
Yun, S., Choi, S. S., Olğun-Baytaș, M., Lyu, S. R., La Croix, L. (2025). Enhancing learning for emergent bi/multilingual children through translanguaging pedagogies: A systematic literature review from 2010-2023. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood Education, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14639491251338422
La Croix, L., & Canavan, M. (2025). The boo-boos that changed our world: A true story about a unique story exchange between preservice teachers and third graders. Reading in Virginia, 49, 6–11. https://heyzine.com/flip-book/1eb2882a79.html#page/6
La Croix, L., Ferguson, D. E., Vesely, C. K., Steen, B. F., Fisher-Maltese, C., *Calabrese, S., *Gong, Y., & *Zhang, X. (2024). Exploring antiracist pedagogies in project-based learning with preservice teachers. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.14434/ijpbl.v18i1.36908
La Croix, L., Vesely, C. K., & Steen, B. F. (2024). Humanizing history: Using historical fiction texts to develop disciplinary and racial literacies. The Reading Teacher, 77(5), 573–780. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.2281
La Croix, L., Steen, B. F., & Vesely, C. K. (2024). Using historical fiction with young children to spark historical inquiry with anti-bias and anti-racist lenses. Young Children, 79(1), 30-40. https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/spring2024/historical-fiction-sparks-historical-inquiry
La Croix, L., Austin, K. S., Schull, C. P., Miller, S. E., & Kidd, J. K. (2024). Leveraging the Environment to Ignite Children’s Literacy Learning. Teaching Young Children, 17(2), 4–6. https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/tyc/winter2024/leveraging-environment-for-literacy-learning
La Croix, L., Parsons, A. W., Klee, H. L., Vaughn, M., & Yun, S. (2024). A snapshot of early childhood teachers’ read-aloud selections. Early Childhood Education Journal, 52(3), 1433–1445. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-023-01534-3
Sherman, J. & La Croix, L., Kidd, J. K., Parsons, A. W. (2024). Conferencing: A catalyst for developing children’s writing. Early Childhood Education Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-024-01778-7
Rahn, N., La Croix, L., Shin, D., Gravil, M., Chen, C., Hix-Small, H., Arora, S., Grisham-Brown, J., Rutland, J. Chai, Z., Mickelson, A., & Xie, H. (2024). Using an online assessment tool to teach authentic assessment to early childhood teacher candidates. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 43(3), 120–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/87568705241249472
La Croix, L., Miller, S. E., Austin, K. S., Schull, C. P., & Kidd, J. K. (2023). Advancing equity through collaborative partnerships: Developing an emergent literacy open educational resource (OER). The Teacher Educators’ Journal, 16(2), 228–248. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b2fca94f7939217ed700824/t/64f6446ee8db1265f44297c7/1693860976194/TTEJ+16%282%29+7.24.23.pdf
La Croix, L., Kidd, J. K., Walter, H., Stone, D., Ferguson, D., Fisher-Maltese, C., Steen, B. F., & Vesely, C. K. (2023). A dynamic process for continued integration between ECE and EI/ECSE teacher preparation programs. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 44(2), 216–233. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2023.2194246
La Croix, L., Yun, S., *Taousakis, M., Steen, B. F., & Kidd, J. K. (2022). “I wished I could have higher” guided study groups to prepare prospective teacher candidates for high-stakes teacher licensure exams. The Teacher Educators’ Journal, 15(1), 122–140. https://www.ateva.org/journal-1
La Croix, L., & Yun, S., (2021). Read, write, play: Prekindergarten children explore the Virginia readers' choice primary texts. Reading in Virginia, 43, 33–42. https://heyzine.com/flip-book/10dfac1a75.html#page/39Yun, S., Choi, S. S., Olğun-Baytaș, M., Lyu, S. R., La Croix, L. (2025). Enhancing learning for emergent bi/multilingual children through translanguaging pedagogies: A systematic literature review from 2010-2023. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood Education, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14639491251338422
La Croix, L., & *Yun, S., (2021). Read, write, play: Prekindergarten children explore the Virginia readers' choice primary texts. Reading in Virginia, 43, 33–42. https://heyzine.com/flip-book/10dfac1a75.html#page/39La Croix, L., & Canavan, M. (2025). The boo-boos that changed our world: A true story about a unique story exchange between preservice teachers and third graders. Reading in Virginia, 49, 6–11. https://heyzine.com/flip-book/1eb2882a79.html#page/6
- Developmental Pathways of Diverse Learners, Birth-Adolescence (ECED 401)
- Foundations of Language and Literacy for Diverse Young Learners, Birth-Age 5 (ECED 402)
- Assessment of Diverse Young Learners (ECED 411)
- Language and Literacy Assessment and Instruction for Diverse Primary Grade Learners (ECED 412)
- Integrating Social Studies Across the Content Areas for Diverse Young Learners (ECED 413)
- Behavior Management Seminar in Inclusive Early Childhood Education (ECED 491)
- Internship in Early Childhood Education (Non-Licensure) (ECED 492)
- Developmental Pathways of Diverse Learners, Birth-Adolescence (ECED 501)
- Assessment of Diverse Young Learners (ECED 511)
- Language and Literacy Assessment and Instruction for Diverse Primary Grade Learners (ECED 512)
- Integrating Social Studies Across the Content Areas for Diverse Young Learners (ECED 513)
- Special Topics in Early Childhood Education (ECED 597)
- Behavior Management Seminar in Inclusive Early Childhood Education (ECED 781)
- Internship with Diverse Preschool Children (ECED 790)
- Teacher Preparation and Professional Development (ECED 803)
- Early Writing: Cognition, Language, and Literacy (ECED 812)
- Human Growth and Development (EDUC 302)
- Seminar for Teaching in Teacher Education (EDUC 801)
- Teacher Preparation and Professional Development (EDUC 803)
- Doctoral Internship in Education (EDUC 890)
- Independent Study for the Doctor of Philosophy in Education (EDUC 897)
- Advanced Internship in Education (EDUC 994)
- Developmental Pathways of Diverse Learners, Birth-Adolescence (EDUT 411)
- Developmental Pathways of Diverse Learners, Birth-Adolescence (EDUT 511)
- Internship in Early Childhood Education (EDUT 790)