five middle-school and high-school aged girls walking down sidewalk by school building

Access to a high-quality K-12 education is critical for the optimal growth and development of every child. Children who attend excellent schools benefit from a range of opportunities designed to develop their intellectual abilities and social skills. The benefits are long-lasting, as educational achievement is linked to higher lifetime earnings and better health. However, there remains a stubborn achievement gap in America's schools due to disparities in funding and teacher training. FPG's work in K-12 education aims to provide educators, public officials, and parents with the resources and tools needed to ensure that a high-quality education is accessible to students from all backgrounds and at all grade levels.

Featured Project

As a Learning Partner for the Effective Implementation Cohort (EIC), the National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) at UNC-Chapel Hill's Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute seeks to support the cohort of Provider-Local Education Agency partnerships in their implementation and measurement efforts related to their scale-up of high-quality mathematics curricula.

Featured Publication

In the last decade, a growing number of schools have begun implementing dual language education (DLE), and studies have shown evidence of the benefits of DLE for elementary education students. However, existing research syntheses do not focus on DLE in the early years (pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten), considering young bilingual children’s development and learning characteristics. FPG Senior Research Scientist Ximena Franco-Jenkins contributed to a paper that explored existing literature on DLE in the early years.

Featured Person

Yolanda Perkins, EdS, is an implementation specialist at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. With more than 20 years of experience in K-12 and post-secondary education, her work focuses on expanding the use of evidence-based practices to reduce disparities in education, learning, and social outcomes.

Current Projects

The K-12 Coherent Instructional Systems portfolio of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s U.S. Program seeks to support a cohort of provider-local education agency partnerships focused on implementing coherent instructional systems (CIS) built around high-quality middle-years mathematics curricula in contexts that serve Black, Latino, and/or English Learning-designated students, and students who are experiencing poverty. As a Learning Partner for the Effective Implementation Cohort (EIC), the National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) at UNC-Chapel Hill's Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute seeks to support the cohort of Provider-Local Education Agency partnerships in their implementation and measurement efforts related to their scale-up of high-quality mathematics curricula.
The Minnesota Department of Education is seeking support for the capacity development of its team in advanced implementation practices. To support the development of implementation capacity, the National Implementation Research Network at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute proposes providing a blended model of implementation practice and implementation research to inform the future development of the Minnesota Department of Educations' implementation science infrastructure.
Successful adoption, implementation, improvement, and scale of the Duke Endowment’s promising practice, the Rural Church Summer Literacy Program, holds the promise to combat learning loss in rural communities throughout North Carolina. As this initiative continues to grow to all rural counties in North Carolina, there is a need for an intermediary organization to provide dynamic, collaborative, and responsive support ultimately contributing to the impact and sustainability of the summer literacy program.
Effective implementation capacity is essential to improving education. The SISEP Center supports education systems in creating implementation capacity for evidence‐based practices benefiting students with disabilities. Project funding is by the Office of Special Education Programs.