Abigail Francis
Doctoral Student
Abigail Francis is a doctoral student in Educational Policy Studies at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. She is also a research assistant at the Wheelock Educational Policy Center (WEPC).
Before starting her PhD, Abigail co-authored an article published in New Directions for Higher Education, presented her undergraduate honors thesis at the Association for Education Finance and Policy Conference, and worked as a team leader for the College Crisis Initiative. While a student at Vanderbilt, she worked as a teaching assistant for Jeremy Payne and as a research assistant for John M. Braxton.
Pronouns: she/her
Recent News
In the Media
- Vax Rates, ESAs, and Cell Phone Bans: 12 Charts That Defined Education in 2025
- Where School Enrollment is Declining the Most: What New Research Shows
- Numbers Say It: Greater Boston is More Diverse, More Divided
- Brookline’s Public School Enrollment Dropped During COVID and Hasn’t Bounced Back. For Families, What’s Driving Public School Appeal?
- Fewer Students Are Enrolled in Public School Than Before the Pandemic
- Public School Enrollment in Mass. on a Five-Year Decline as Private Options See Higher Demand
- Since COVID, Larger Share of Mass. Parents Trade Public Schools for Private
- School Enrollment Shifts Five Years After the Pandemic
- Public School Enrollment Continues to Fall
- A New Hub for Smarter Education Policy
Education
MEd, Human Development Studies, Vanderbilt University,
BA, Educational Studies, Davidson College
Selected Publications
Francis, A., & Goodman, J. (2025). School enrollment shifts five years after the pandemic. Economics of Education Review, 109, 102734. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102734
Marsicano C.R., Braxton, J., Francis A., & Sheldon D. (2022). Wither or Not the Academic Public Intellectual Across the Spectrum of U.S. Colleges and Universities, New Directions for Higher Education, 2022, 11-24. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20464
Selected Presentations
Goodman, J., & Francis, A. (2025, November 13). Long term trends [Webinar]. Brown University, Annenberg Institute, EdWorkingPapers Webinar Series. https://edworkingpapers.com/webinar-series
Francis A. (2023). PTA Participation Through Communication and Recruitment: During and After Virtual Learning. Davidson College Library. Presented at the annual conference of the Association for Education Finance and Policy, Denver, CO.
Murray, B., Francis, A., Ross, A. April 2023. “A Seat at the table: The production of racial hierarchies among parents in schools.” Presented by Dr. Brittany Murray at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.