Abigail Francis

I am Abigail Francis, a doctoral student in Educational Policy Studies at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, and a research assistant at the Wheelock Educational Policy Center (WEPC). My research asks how education policies and institutional decisions reshape who has access to opportunity within public school systems, and how systems respond when that access shifts.

 

Across projects, I focus on three broad areas, staffing and credentialing, school and district decision making, and enrollment and school choice pathways. Running through this work is a question about voice, where communities are able to shape the decisions that affect their schools, and where those decisions are made with little room for community input or response. I trace how these forces shape outcomes for the students and districts they touch, from achievement trajectories to enrollment realignment across public, charter, private, and homeschool sectors.

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Prior to my Ph.D., I served as a team lead and research assistant at the College Crisis Initiative and a research assistant for John M. Braxton. I also served as a servant leader at Freedom School Partners. I hold a B.A. from Davidson College in Educational Studies and an M.Ed. in Human Development Studies from Vanderbilt University.