Jennifer C. Mann, Ph.D., is a Research Scientist at Duke University’s Center for Child and Family Policy in the Sanford School of Public Policy. With more than 20 years of experience in education, she has taught high school English, elementary and adult English as a Second Language, and undergraduate and graduate teacher education.
Dr. Mann’s research focuses on literacy and language development, teacher professional learning, and student wellbeing among multilingual learners and immigrant- and refugee-background students. She has contributed to federally funded studies and currently leads a privately funded, multimillion-dollar research project designing and examining Critical In-Depth Reading, a professional learning model that supports teachers in engaging adolescent multilingual learners in rigorous, meaningful literacy learning. Her work is guided by the belief that students build language, confidence, and agency when schools recognize their cultural and linguistic strengths and provide meaningful opportunities to think, communicate, and contribute.
A first-generation college graduate raised in rural Southern Virginia, Dr. Mann is especially committed to public education as a collective responsibility. She is interested in education policies that strengthen public schools’ capacity to serve every student and ensure that educators, families, and young people have a meaningful voice in decisions that shape their schools and communities.