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
Successful adoption, implementation, improvement, and scale of the promising practice, the 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. A 2-year project aims to provide both programmatic and implementation support to 35 rural community sites anchored in faith communities in North Carolina.
Featured Publication
A recent paper from Desiree Murray, PhD, and colleagues advances theoretical and empirical knowledge of teacher social-emotional competencies by operationalizing a new model called Mindful Co-Regulation that describes how mindfulness is translated into supportive interactions with students. This model theorizes that teacher mindfulness contributes to Mindful Teaching, which promotes Effective SEL Instruction and Co-Regulation actions with students, including building responsive relationships with students, creating safe supportive learning environments, and intentional day-to-day interactions that promote student SEL.
Featured Person
Ximena Franco-Jenkins, PhD, is a senior research scientist at FPG, co-director of FPG's National Implementation Research Network (NIRN), and the early childhood portfolio lead at NIRN. She has more than 20 years of experience in applied research, primarily with ethnically diverse children and families, dual language learners, and multilingual learners within school and community settings. Her work integrates children's socio-emotional development and educational and family environments and aims to develop culturally robust assessments and support the implementation of evidence-based practices.
