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Kri Burkander

Senior Research Associate

Pronouns: She/Her

Degrees

  • Ph.D. in Education Policy: Michigan State University
  • M.S.W. in Interpersonal Practice with Children and Youth: University of Michigan
  • B.A. in Psychology: Antioch College

About Kri Burkander

Dr. Kri Burkander currently serves as the Principal Investigator for RFA’s 5-year IES grant studying the implementation and impact of California’s Assembly Bill (AB) 705, a statewide developmental education reform initiative aimed at increasing equitable community college course placement. She also serves on the team conducting a national evaluation of a continuous quality improvement intervention in 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC) afterschool programs.

Burkander has extensive experience working with youth in classroom and out-of-school settings as an educator, mixed-methods researcher, clinician, and administrator. Burkander leverages this experience in support of her projects at RFA, including studying an afterschool arts initiative in six states, leading qualitative evaluations with four Philadelphia 21CCLC grantees, and directing the evaluation of an NSF-funded afterschool enrichment and mentoring program for low-income young women of color interested in STEM fields. Much of her research focuses on the transition from high school to college for low-income and first-generation college students, and she is broadly committed to improving educational pipelines and outcomes for marginalized and underserved students.

  • When I'm not at work, you can find me...

    In a Quaker committee meeting or adventuring with my family.

  • A fun fact about me is...

    I used to be on a roller derby team.

  • If I could have a superpower it'd be...

    bilocation.

Key Projects by Kri Burkander

The Implementation, Impact, and Cost-Effectiveness of Developmental Education Curricular Reform in California Community Colleges

Read More Postsecondary & Workforce

California Community Colleges Data Collection Project

Read More Postsecondary & Workforce

Evaluation of Engineering Women in Natural Science (EngWINS), an Afterschool STEM Mentoring program

Read More Out-of-School Time

Evaluation of Jobs for the Future’s Student Success Center Initiative

Read More Postsecondary & Workforce

Say Yes to Education: RFA’s Five-Year Evaluation of the Cleveland Chapter

Read More K-12

State and Local College Promise Programs: Examining Policy and Practice

Read More Postsecondary & Workforce

STEM Training for Philadelphia Teachers: An Evaluation Funded by the National Science Foundation

Read More K-12

21st Century Grants: Tracking the Implementation and Success of Academically-Oriented After-School Programs

Read More Out-of-School Time

Afterschool Arts Programming in the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of America: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation

Read More Out-of-School Time
See all author projects

Recent Publications by Kri Burkander

Publication

Statewide College Promise Programs: Balancing Affordability, Access, and Student Success

State-level postsecondary policymaking is daunting. Policymakers navigate through myriad fiscal, political, and ideological constraints and opportunities as they strive to address pressing state concerns or goals. While researchers and advocates may point to “perfect” policy…

Publication

The Case of Oregon Promise: An Early Adopter Focused on Broadening Access

Research for Action has studied statewide Promise programs since 2017, with in-depth analysis in four states—Delaware, Nevada, Oregon, and Tennessee. Our research in these states includes an extensive review of legislative and policy documents; 146…
See all author publications