Virginia Early Childhood Policy Center
Welcome to the Virginia Early Childhood Policy Center at ODU. We believe that ensuring the wellbeing of Virginia's children is crucial to the long-term success and vitality of our Commonwealth. To that end, our work focuses on developing and sharing with lawmakers, business leaders, and the general public resources related to important early childhood issues.
The Commonwealth of Virginia is unique in its socioeconomic and demographic diversity, and the VECPC hopes to establish itself as a leading source for information on the specific needs of the varied groups of children and their families located throughout the Commonwealth.
Staff Bios
Angela Eckhoff
Angela Eckhoff is an Assistant Professor of Teaching and Learning in the Early Childhood Education program at Old Dominion University. She is also the co-director of the Virginia Early Childhood Policy Center at Old Dominion University. She holds a dual Ph.D. from the University of Colorado - Boulder in Educational Psychology and Cognitive Science. Her areas of research include in five connected areas: (a) encouraging art viewing experiences in early childhood classrooms; (b) investigating teaching strategies that encourage meaningful, early arts experiences; (c) informal (out of school) learning environments; (d) educational practices in the arts and humanities that support and extend current conceptions creativity and content area learning; (e) early childhood education and development policy.
Rebecca Tilhou
Rebecca Tilhou is currently working towards her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at Old Dominion University. She is the graduate research assistant with the Virginia Early Childhood Policy Center. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Old Dominion University, a Master of Arts in Education from the College of William and Mary, and is certified to teach grades K-6. After teaching for more than a decade, she has returned to ODU to deepen her knowledge of educational issues and theories, as well as explore new strategies in order to assist schools, the children and families they serve, and the greater community. Her research involves the study of cognitive techniques to enhance academic achievement and social-emotional competence.
The VECPC is grateful to our former Co-Director, Dr. Peter Baker, for his service and leadership.
