Ximena Franco-Jenkins

Ximena Franco-Jenkins, PhD, is a Senior Research Scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, the Co-Director of the National Implementation Research Network (NIRN), and the Early Childhood Portfolio Lead at NIRN. She has more than 17 years of experience in applied research, primarily with ethnically diverse children and families, Dual Language Learners (DLLs), and Multilingual Learners (MLs) within school and community settings. Her work integrates children’s socio-emotional development and educational and family environments. She aims to develop culturally robust assessments and support the implementation of evidence-based practices. 

Franco-Jenkins leads a study focused on evaluating the effective implementation of seven high-quality middle-year math curricula across 19 school districts in the US targeting Latin and Black, students living in poverty, students designated as English Learners, and students with disabilities as well as PI for Meck Pre-K evaluation study. 

Franco-Jenkins co-led an IES-funded study examining associations between the language of instruction and academic outcomes in Spanish-English dual-language academic settings. Franco-Jenkins’s work also involves policies and practices related to state quality rating and improvement systems for early childhood. She served as PI on the North Carolina Statewide Birth-5 Needs Assessment project and Co-PI on evaluating North Carolina’s Quality Rating Improvement System. 

EDUCATION: PhD Life Span Developmental Psychology, Florida International University

AREAS OF EXPERTISE: Research and Evaluation, Child Development, Implementation Science, Multilingual Learners