Jessica Francis (She/Her)
Senior Research Associate II
What I do
I conduct research and evaluation in the early childhood field, with the hope of providing affordable, high-quality preschool to all children. My research includes work with administrators, educators, early childhood mental health consultants and supervisors, and children and families.
Specialization(s)
early childhood, child welfare
Professional Biography
Jessica Francis serves as a Senior Research Associate at the Butler Institute for Families at GSSW. Prior to working at Butler, Jessica worked at the Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood (DIEEC) at the University of Delaware for 5 years and focused on systems development, program quality and organizational effectiveness. Prior to DIEEC, Jessica worked in various roles at the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University, most recently as an Assistant Research Professor. During her 15 years at NIEER, Jessica managed and led numerous research studies in New Jersey and throughout the country. The focus of her research was largely on quality in publicly funded preschool programs, as well as intervention studies on components such as parent engagement, class size, curriculum, teacher education and QRIS, among many others.
Degree(s)
- BA in Economics, University of Virginia
- MA in Education, University Virginia
- PhD in Child Development, Loyola University Chicago/Erikson Institute